The Wandering Hero
by Sensus Scelestus
Summary: The fateful Halloween night, Sirius first thought of his godson. Harry Potter is raised by a convict and a werewolf, chased by Aurors and Dark Wizards, and he learns how to survive.
1. Prologue

_** "**__**I hate the idea of causes, and if I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country**__** "**_

_**E. M. Forster **_

"_**We must make the choices that enable us to fulfil the deepest capacities of our real selves.**__** "**_

_**Thomas Merton ~**_

_**Harry Potter: Age 1  
Godric's Hollow, England, the World**_

The sky was pitch black with no clouds to speak of, though smoke raised its billowy form in an elegant dance; stretching to the heavens and making a thick ghostly mist that hovered. The air around was completely still, filling what seemed like the whole world with a deafening silence that hurt the ears. No bird chirped, no animal moved, no wind sang.

Padfoot lifted his nose higher into the air and sniffed, attempting to use the strongest of his senses to figure out what was wrong. Besides the smoke rising a little ways in front of him, he could also smell the fire. Something about it was magical, making him wonder if it really was an accident, like the police far behind him were claiming. Nothing made any sense.

Frustrated with his inability to figure things out, he slowly made his way to the Potters, hoping the Lily and Prongs knew what was going on. As he neared their house, he froze. He could see it. Before anything else registered, that did. He could see the house past the Fidelius Charm. Breaking into a run, he abruptly came to a halt, everything around him started to sink in. The house of his best friend, his wife and their son – his godson – was burning.

With barely a thought, Padfoot became Sirius once more, and the look upon his face was an expression of pure terror. Forgoing any appearance of sanity, he sprinted into the dying flames. The minute he was past the doorway, the tears that had started to appear in his eyes when he had first seen the wreckage now fell in earnest as he sobbed. James lay on the floor before him; eyes still open and staring at the ceiling, unseeing.

Sirius fell to his knees at his best friend's feet and started shaking his shoulder. He saw, but didn't really understand completely, that James would never wake up. He mourned for a few minutes, remembering all the laughs and pranks that they had shared, all the mayhem they had caused, all the mischief they had managed; they never would again.

Suddenly, Sirius remembered that James wasn't the only person in the house that he cared greatly about. Quickly clambering to his feet, he frantically searched the ground floor for Lily and his godson, but to no avail. He jumped for the stairs, taking the steps two at a time and arrived in Harry's room. He staggered back a few steps at the sight that greeted him.

A foul stench filled the air, and Lily, lovely Lily, was sprawled on the ground in a manner very similar to her husband's. Sirius knew that they had both died in the same way. Looking up from her body, he saw a small shape huddled under a blanket in Harry's little-boy bed. Bracing himself, he slowly reached out to take the blanket, terrified of what he would find. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he grasped the blanket and tore it away from the bed, tossing it forcefully in the opposite direction. Carefully he opened his eyes and gasped.

Two emerald green eyes, so like their mother's, stared back at him, blinking slowly, long black lashes gently kissing his baby-fat cheeks. Sirius stared at Harry, and Harry stared right back with an expression of confusion. Staring at his godson, his so-very-alive godson, and saw to his horror a bright red mark upon his forehead, partly hidden beneath his unruly black hair. Moving slowly towards him, scared he might startle and start to cry, Sirius cautiously held out his hand towards Harry. To his surprise, the toddler stretched out his arms and reached for him. Calming slightly at the knowledge that his godson still knew and loved him, Sirius swooped his arms under Harry's and lifted him up, holding him tightly to his chest and letting his sorrow out. The one year old held him tight, and to Sirius it felt like he would never let him go.

After a few moments of simply holding each other, Sirius pulled away and reached up to completely move his hair that was hanging unceremoniously over his forehead out of the way. Once he did, he stared at the mark that Harry was now sporting…it was in the shape of a lightning bolt, and the harder Sirius stared, the stronger the feeling in his gut that told him it would mean horrible things became.

The creaking of the floorboards brought Sirius back to the reality of the house burning slowly but surely around them. Without a second thought, he gathered Harry snugly against his own body once more before sprinting out of the building.

* * *

It was when they were far enough away from the nosy neighbors of Godric`s Hollow that Sirius realized it should have been impossible for the Potters to be found, and yet they had been. Thinking of all the possibilities of what could have happened, Sirius only found one that explained everything.

Forgetting for a minute that Harry was sitting next to him in the forest, Sirius leapt to his feet yelling furiously, "PETTIGREW!" At the same time, in the same place, another shout went up.

"Expelliarmus!" The wand that Sirius had unconsciously drawn suddenly flew into the waiting hand of Remus Lupin. Lupin stood there with his wand pointed at Sirius's chest, his eyes darting toward that small figure that he knew was Harry. Sirius slowly raised his hands, showing his friend that he was not planning on doing anything rash, though the movement did not seem to calm Remus. His eyes were wide with shock and hatred as he stared down one of the few people who had ever known and understood his condition and hadn't turned away.

"You," he choked out, barely able to spit the words out past his fury; "you betrayed them! I trusted you and you betrayed them!" Sirius took a step towards him, frantically trying to explain, but Lupin was having none of that. Over Sirius's soothing words, he yelled.

"You betrayed Lily and James! You sold them out to Voldemort!" Once he'd heard his friend's accusation, Sirius's voice roared over Lupin's. Though he was practically shaking with the desire to finish the worthless man in front of him, Lupin heard the sincerity and remorse in his voice.

"NEVER! You know me, Moony! I would rather die than betray my friends!" Remus paused, his heart begging to take the easy way out and to forgive and believe him, but his mind rebelled and kept his wand steady.

"You were their secret keeper, Sirius! You would have been the only one able to tell someone where they were! You—" He didn't finish the sentence, as Sirius was shaking his head forcefully.

"I wasn't! It was Peter," he sank to his knees slowly and Remus saw the tear tracks on his cheeks become clearer as he repeated softly, "it was Peter."

"No," Remus, intoned, more to himself than to Sirius, "No, you were their Secret Keeper! They chose you, and you betrayed them to Voldemort! You killed your best friend! _Stupe—"_

"Moony, you have to believe me! It was Peter!" Remus felt the seed of doubt start to grown in his gut as he stared at one of the only people in the whole entire world that he knew well enough to tell when they were lying. As far as he could tell, Sirius wasn't. He slowly lowered his wand, before quickly bringing it up again.

"Prove it," he demanded. Sirius nodded and looked his friend dead in the eye. Remus trained his line of vision on Sirius' eyes: they were honest, defiant and true, with rivers of pain flowing through them, and Remus found himself unable to not trust him. With a sigh, he gave a jerky nod, never releasing his wand that was levelled between his old friend's eyes, ready for treachery. Making every move deliberate movement, Sirius drew his own wand. Being very slow in his motions, letting Remus see his every move very clearly, Sirius tapped the air in front of him three times in the same spot.

"I, Sirius Black, vow that I was not the Secret Keeper to the Potters and did not betray them to Lord Voldemort and am not the cause of their death." When he finished speaking, a couple of gold sparks shot out from his wand and fell to the ground, fading before they hit the earth.

Completely relieved, but not entirely surprised, Remus lowered his wand. He walked over to his friend and the two men stood together silently, both overcome by the somberness and sorrow of their situation.

"I begged them to switch to Peter, thinking that they would be safer, but they weren't," Sirius started in a whisper. He kept his eyes on the cold, damp ground, "I was going over to the house to visit since James had sent an Owl saying he was bored and needed something to occupy him before he went completely mad. We were going to start teaching Harry the starting rules of Quidditch, since he already seemed to love it so much. But when I got there," he paused, shaking his head as if to get rid of the memories that were filling it, "the house was burning.

"James was lying on the floor, right past the front doorway, as if he had heard Voldemort come in and had run to hold him off. Lily was upstairs, right in front of the cradle. Both of them dead—two of the most powerful witches and wizards of our age dead, but their one year old baby survived." Tears were falling once again, though he refused to make a sound. Remus, too, felt the burning in his eyes, but all he did was sit beside his distraught friend and offer the only comfort that he could: companionship.

Quite suddenly, Sirius lifted his head and looked at his old school friend. Remus was instantly on his guard. He knew the expression on Sirius's face always meant that he was about to do something rash, badly thought-out and foolish. Leaning back, he said warily,

"Sirius…" but Sirius paid him no attention whatsoever. Instead, he rose from his position and picked up little Harry. Lupin's eyes widened as he saw the scar that was imprinted on the toddler's forehead, but had no time to pay it any further inspection however, as Sirius thrust the young boy into his surprised arms. Then, he walked a few feet away from the curious and questioning faces of both man and boy. When he stopped, Remus found his voice again.

"Sirius, what are you doing? Where are you going?" His friend turned elegantly around to face him with a small grin on his face and Remus inwardly groaned.

"I," the heir to the Black fortune stated grandly, stretching out his arms in a fashion of arrogance and indifference, "am going to go kill that traitorous, lying, two faced, rat-bastard." And with that, he apparated before Remus had the chance to stop him. Lupin shouted after him in vain, only stopping when Harry looked up at him with sleepy eyes. Sighing, and silently praying that his friend wouldn't get himself killed, Remus resigned himself to the task at hand—taking care of the only living Potter in the world, the son of two of his best friends, the boy who had somehow defeated Voldemort… the boy who lived.

* * *

Sirius Black easily ducked the feeble stunning spell that had been thrown at him and sent two identical spells right back. After they had passed, he heard a high squeak and cursed at the thought of missing his target. The fog around him was lifting ever so slowly, but now he could see a small, pudgy shape in the distance that was Peter Pettigrew.

Seeing the person who was responsible for his best friend's death sent rage boiling in his blood, and with a furious roar, Sirius ran at him. Taking him by surprise, he muggle-tackled him to the ground, sending both of their wands flying off somewhere past where their eyes could see. Pinning him to the cobblestone street, Sirius contented himself with punching Peter's face again and again.

"You sold them to Voldemort!" he screamed, "You're the reason they're dead! You're the reason that Harry will never know his parents! You're the reason that I'll never see my best friend again!" With each reason that he stated, the scrawny man that he held to the ground received another blow to his face. Blood was flowing, covering Sirius' hand and Peter's face.

Peter's hands were fighting furiously beside him, grappling for the wand that he was sure couldn't be far. Finally, he reached it and with a cry of "_Defodio!_", he sent Sirius flying backwards, nursing a deeply cut arm. Peter rose from the street, staring at Sirius who crouched on his knees holding his arm and glaring at him.

"You don't understand," Peter started fearfully, stuttering slightly and resisting the urge to bite his nails, "the Dark Lord gave me no choice! He would have killed me, Sirius! I had no choice. You would have done the same!"

Sirius leapt to his feet and raced towards the traitor. "I would have died! I would died rather than betray my friends, and I though you would have too! You traitorous little— _Impedimentia!_" Peter squealed and ran in the opposite direction, not having seen the other man retrieve his wand.

Feeling the effects of losing a lot of blood, Sirius staggered for a moment before falling slowly to his knees. Peter cautiously walked up to him, his eyes darting from place to place, worried that his boyhood friend was faking, but as he went closer and closer, all Sirius did was look up at him with pain-filled eyes.

Suddenly, noises around them alerted the two men to the fact that the street that they were in was not completely deserted anymore. Peter looked around in a panic before he seemed to come to a decision. All Sirius could do was watch through a haze of pain as Peter raised his wand and directed it to his hand. With a quick mumble of a spell he cut off his own finger. Gasping at the feeling, Peter watched with interest as the disjointed finger lay unmoving on the ground while blood spurted from his hand. Then, with one last glance at Sirius, who was watching in confusion, he started yelling.

"No! You betrayed them! You're the reason they're dead!" He raised his wand and with one flick, the world around them exploded.

Sirius was thrown back from the force that erupted a couple of feet in front of him. Landing on the rough ground, he groaned as his already-wounded arm was jostled again and again. Stretching, he clambered with great struggle to his knees, looking around and freezing instantly.

Everywhere, small flames were fading into nothing. The stones of the street had been lifted out of the ground and were still landing in different parts of the surrounding area. Trees had been uprooted, the grass the burning, but what caught Sirius' eye were the bodies strewn everywhere. Sirius rose to his feet to better see the apocalypse that was surrounding him.

Women, children, men; all were present. Sirius gritted his teeth and cradling his wounded arm protectively against his chest, walked through the horror. As well as he could see, there were 13 bodies in total, but each body that he forced himself to look at was not the one he hoped to find. Peter was gone.

Just as Sirius was about to pass out from the jolts of agony that his arm was shooting into his entire body and from the sickening sight before him, he heard it. Voices were approaching his location and with a start, Sirius realized that he knew them; aurors. Just as quickly, Sirius also knew that most people would automatically assume the same thing that Remus had, that he was the traitor. Aurors finding him among 13 dead muggles would only fuel their conviction of his crime.

By the time that the wizard police arrived at the scene, no living soul was in sight. All that awaited them were the dead.

* * *

Remus gently rocked Harry back and forth, listening to his quiet breathing even out until it was obvious that he was sound asleep. Then, silently, Remus drew his wand and pointed it at the sleeping toddler's forehead.

"Vulnura Sanentur," he murmured gently, trying his best not to wake him. To his shock, the mark did not disappear; rather it looked more aged, as if it had become a scar.

Just as he opened his mouth to attempt the spell again, sure that he simply must have said something wrong, a loud popping noise interrupted him. Remus whirled around and came face to face with Sirius' ragged face. Quickly glancing down to make sure that Harry was still asleep, he then rushed to his friend.

Sirius was leaning his entire weight against a tree behind him. Remus could see his arm was bleeding profusely. He moved forward to help but Sirius simply waved him away, taking his own wand out and healing the gash himself. Sirius's eyes closed briefly in relief before he started to speak.

"He admitted to it," he gasped for breath, still tired from his recent run in with Peter, "he said that he did it. Muggles started coming and he killed them all. Oh Merlin, Moony! He made it look like it was me!" Remus was quiet for a minute.

"Did you kill him?" Sirius looked up in surprise at the violent question that his gentle friend asked. He shook his head.

"No, he got away before I could. They're going to come after me, Moony! With their rule of 'kill or arrest now and ask questions later!' " he looked at Remus imploringly, begging him without words to come up with a plan like he always did. Moony set the wheels of mind whirling, but no matter how hard he thought, he could only come up with one word, and he looked Sirius in the eye.

"Run." Sirius' head fell into his hands as Remus continued to talk. "We'll run to a place where they won't think to look, and we'll keep moving at all times."

"And Harry?" Sirius demanded, "We're the only ones who can take care of him now, but always moving around and living in fear? We'll have to think more about that." The werewolf's eyes bulged, and he gaped at his friend.

"Are you bloody mad? You want us to raise him? Oh, that would be great; growing up around a werewolf and a convict! I'm sure that he'll grow up to have great morals!"

"Where else would he go, Moony? Lily's sister, Petunia, and her great lump of a husband? The ones who absolutely detest magic and everything that goes with it? Or maybe an orphanage, where he'd likely have some of the worst experiences in life!" Remus shook his head determinedly.

"It wouldn't be much better with us, Sirius! Never able to make friends... always on the move, always looking over his shoulders, always living in fear! Unable to have a normal life because two grown adults weren't able to make a hard decision and let him go?"

"For Merlin's sake, Remus! He would be able to grow up around magic! With his godfather and his uncle! With people who knew his parents and would be able to talk about them whenever he wanted to! He would grow up knowing who he was!"

Remus was losing the battle and he knew it. As a final attempt, Sirius took Harry from his friend's arms and held him up. The little boy slowly opened his eyes tiredly, wondering why he had been woken up.

"Look at his eyes, Moony," the animagus ordered gently. The other man sighed and looked. The moment that he did, he was lost. Lily's eyes in James' face looked back at him unblinkingly. "Can you really say no?" Sirius continued quietly, knowing that he had just won. Shoulders slumping in defeat, Remus shook his head, but he was smiling.

"I never wanted to, anyway." He admitted.

The werewolf and the animagus gazed at the once-again sleeping baby who had just become their responsibility. He was their James, and he was their Lily... but most of all, he was their Harry.

* * *

_** I've been wanting to write this story for awhile now, and finally snapped to it. These chapters will go up a lot faster than my other stories since with this one, I got smart. I've already got the first chapters written with more on the way. Of course, the speed of the updates will depend on the number of reviews…just kidding. I'll try to update soon, but no promises.**_

_**A huge thanks to my beta, xxTunstall Chickxx, without whom there would be no legible chapters.**_

_**Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling**_

_**Scelestus **_


	2. At The Beginning

"_**It takes two to get one in trouble." ~ Mae West quotes**_

"_**One trouble with trouble is that is usually starts out like fun" ~ Unknown**_

_**Harry Potter: age 2  
Melbourne, Australia, The World  
1982**_

Night had long fallen out the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, and almost everyone was at their chosen destination of home, bar, or with their friends/partner. One man, however, walked the empty streets. His shoulders were slumped, his head down and his walking unsteady, as if he would collapse right on the ground in front of him from sheer exhaustion.

He suddenly swerved to the right side of the street, wearily advancing a cozy, small house nestled comfortably between trees at the very end of the court. He approached it slowly, his keen ears listening attentively for any noises that would alert him to any danger lurking nearby. All was quiet.

He arrived at the door and instantly froze. From within the house he heard voices. There was a quiet, high-pitched giggling and a lower, older voice yelling in what was supposed to be a frustrated and angry tone but was really laced with amusement and pent-up laughter.

The soft glow of the exterior lights fell upon the man's head, and though his face was grey, scratches covered his tired body and he looked as if he had been to hell and back, Remus Lupin grinned.

He opened the door to find a sight that made him forget that there was anything bad in the world, that nothing in his life could ever be wrong. As it was whenever he saw them, Remus was ultimately happy with his life and the decision that he and his best friend had made a year earlier.

Two year old Harry stood by the staircase, giggling helplessly at the picture in front of him, and Remus couldn't blame him for laughing. Sirius Black sat the bottom of the stairs, marbles scattered at his feet and under his body. The vase that had been so carefully placed to the top of the table near the front entranceway lay broken on the ground, minuscule shards of glass strewn everywhere. On the once-creamy walls were long lines and drawings done in green paint, along with the occasional full, baby's handprint. That alone convinced Remus that the cause of the disastrous house was none-other than the hysterical toddler.

As the werewolf watched in amused silence, Sirius leapt to his feet and scooped Harry up into his arms. He brought the shrieking child right up to his own face and said,

"Really? Really? Is that the best that you can do? Well, young man, this is the proper way to draw on walls!" He propped Harry onto one hip and as the boy clapped his hands in glee, Sirius dipped his fingers into the can of paint sitting precariously on the edge of the starts and he himself began to draw on the walls.

"See, Pup, you have to use a huge glob of paint so that it will drip and make an even bigger mess, and also so that it's harder to clean up. Another thing is…"

Remus cleared his throat, knowing that it was probably not the best idea to have a two-year old know the secret art of wall drawing. Upon hearing him, Sirius became absolutely still. Harry peeked over his godfather's shoulder and once he saw Remus' face, he whispered loudly to Sirius,

"Uh-oh". Ever so slowly, Sirius turned so that he faced his friend. Remus simply looked at him with one eyebrow raised. Clearing his own throat, the animagus gently placed a protesting Harry on the ground and put his hands on his hips.

"Now you listen here, young man," he began in a loud tone, "that was a very naughty and bad thing to do. If you ever do anything like this again, it will call for some severe spanking, do you understand? Now go to your room!" Instead of cowering in fear or attempting to make his way up the long stairs to his room, Harry giggled some more and raised his arms to his partner in crime.

"Pa'foot! Pa'foot!" Sirius sighed and smiled, as if he had expected as much.

"Come on, little man. Let's get you ready for bed."

* * *

After putting Harry to sleep, Sirius descended the stairs just in time to see Remus give his wand a long wave. All of the mayhem that had been caused in the house righted itself instantly.

"You're lucky we can do magic, Padfoot, or else the muggles who actually live here would be in for one nasty surprise when they return home in a month." Sirius merely shrugged his shoulder and gave an impish grin.

"What do you expect, Moony? The Pup's a natural Marauder! We've got to encourage this kind of thing or he might turn out to be a goody-two-shoes!" Remus rolled his eyes to the heavens in a 'God give me strength to deal with two toddlers in one house' fashion before he retreated to the sitting room. About to crack a joke, Sirius saw the pensive and troubled look on his friend's face.

"Speaking of Moony," he said instead, "how'd your furry little problem go?" Remus didn't even crack a grin at the childhood name for his lycanthropy, and Sirius knew that something was seriously wrong.

"I ran into Dumbledore," he stated abruptly. Sirius had been in process of sitting down, but upon hearing Remus' words, he missed the comfy chair by a mile, lading instead on the hard, wooden floor on his backside.

"While you were changed?" he yelped in shock.

"No, no Sirius! After!" Sirius relaxed, letting out a huge gust of air in relief. "I ran into Dumbledore a few days after my change," Remus continued, "and he thinks that he knows what happened Halloween night last year." Sirius' face instantly closed over, his eyes becoming dark with pain and sorrow. Remus, too, felt overwhelming sadness wash over him, as he always did whenever that night was mentioned. He shook the feeling off, focusing on the important news he had to share.

"He somehow knew that Harry's still alive, and has a theory for how he defeated Voldemort." Sirius snapped himself out of his sombre thoughts and listened intently as Remus described Lily's sacrifice.

"The Professor does, however, think that you're guilty, as does the rest of the wizarding world." Remus finished, watching his friend closely for his reaction. Sirius only shrugged his shoulders, already knowing that in everyone's mind he was a mass murderer. Instead he digested the rest of Remus' story carefully.

"Harry survived the killing curse cast by the most powerful dark-wizard in history because of love?" he questioned, as if to make sure that he had it right. Remus nodded once, still a little disbelieving himself, but he hadn't finished talking.

"Dumbledore thinks, and I agree, that Voldemort is going to come back. Until then, he asked me to keep my ears open in to the underground for news of any kind."

"The werewolf underground? Merlin, Moony! And you said yes?"

"I'll still check in with you and Harry every couple of months, but this could really help all of us out in the future and I―what was that?" A short, small symphony of snapping twigs sounded outside of the house, causing both men to leap to their feet and draw their wands.

Cautiously, they advanced to the nearest window. Before either of them could even see through it, the front door burst open in a bright flash of red light. Thrown into action, Sirius and Remus both sprinted up the stairs, sending jinxes and hexes behind them furiously as they went. They reached Harry's room at lightning speed. The little boy was awake and sitting up in his bed, his emerald eyes wide with confusion and fear, but he didn't make a sound. Grateful for this, Sirius raced to him and pulled him out of bed and into his arms. Holding on to him with all of his might and grabbing Remus' shoulder, the three disappeared.

The Aurors of the Ministry of Magic had been right behind the two men on the stairs, but they reached Harry's room only in time to see them vanish into thin air. The three of them would never return to that house again.

* * *

_**"There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament." Henry Van Dyke**_

_**"Luck is not chance - It's Toil - Fortune's expensive smile Is earned" Emily Dickinson**_

**Harry Potter: Age 4  
Fredericton, Canada, The World  
1984**

Downtown Fredericton was as busy as the small city could be during non-tourist season. The shop windows were lit up with bright, neon signs and products being shown off for the arrival of spring. The alleys had all been cleaned out by the heavy rains and only consisted of large puddles and the endless drip, drip, drip. One particular alley right in the middle of downtown was no different than the rest of them. People passed it with not a glance, used to the dark, mysterious passageways that were always empty.

Suddenly, a loud "pop" filled the air, and many of the Frederictonians jumped before glancing around to try and spot the idiot who owned the backfiring car. No one paid any attention, or even noticed that that a particular alleyway was no longer empty.

Sirius Black huffed in annoyance and frustration as he paced the cobblestones, furiously calling himself every foul name he could think of. Four year old Harry watched with unblinking emerald green eyes, used to his godfather's odd ways. Instead of moping and worrying about him, Harry looked to the entrance way to alley and saw a man enter it and walk right towards them with a purpose. Harry grinned up and him and his Uncle Moony reached down to affectionately ruffle his messy hair before confronting his friend.

"Aurors?" he inquired. Sirius gave him a short nod before spitting out,

We had just gotten back from the grocery store and saw them swarm the house from the street. Grabbed Harry, apparated to our forest meeting spot, waited a day and a half, then came here and we haven ft had anything to eat since then and Harry's probably exhausted and starving and I'm-"

Remus lifted one finger to his lips to quiet his mindlessly rambling friend, and motioned towards Harry who had one ear cocked towards them, trying to catch what they were saying. Instantly, Sirius fell silent, not wanting his young godson to know his worries, but it was too late. Harry knew that they had no food, and no money to buy any. Making his decision, he made his way to the entrance way to the alley.

They argued quietly amongst themselves, trying to figure out what they were going to do. Sirius quickly glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Harry wasn't listening to their conversation, and his head created a slight wind as he whipped it right back around to look at the empty spot where Harry had once stood, but he was gone.

With a shout to alert Remus to it, Sirius set off at a run into the Downtown. Reaching the actual streets he glanced around, his eyes searching frantically for his godson. But the moment he looked to the left, he spotted him with no trouble at all.

Harry was talking earnestly to a middle aged muggle couple a little down the street. As Sirius watched, the man grinned while the woman threw her head back and gave a loud laugh. Remus joined his friend at observing them and both men fs jaws hit the ground when the strange man chuckled before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wad of bills and handed them over to the little boy. With a quick, easy grin, Harry threw his arms around them both for a moment before he ran towards the two men watching shocked.

Wordlessly, Harry held out the newly received money, proudly grinning, to Sirius, who stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. Slowly, he reached out to take the money, looking at Harry all the while. Then, he paused, looking instead at the money filling his hand. Processing that it was fifteen dollars cash, he suddenly let out a loud whoop before charging to the nearest convenience store.

Remus shook his head at his friend's antics before he knelt to the ground so that he was around the same height as Harry.

"Pup, what did you say to those nice people? Why did they give you money?" Harry looked around, before leaning in to Remus.

"I told them," he whispered, as if it was a huge secret, "that Paddy cut his pocket open showing me a magic trick and all of his money fell out and that he said that if I found some of his money, he'd buy me an ice cream cone...and that I really like ice cream! I asked them if they'd picked up any money off the street."

Remus stared down at him incredulously. "And they had?" he exclaimed, and Harry simply shrugged.

"I guess so. They gave me some money and told me to go get all the ice cream I wanted. Can we, Moony? Please?" Moony continued to stare at his young charge before he very slowly began to shake his head, a smile creeping up past his lips.

"Pup," he began, "you are the luckiest person I'll ever know."

* * *

_**"A farewell is necessary before we can meet again, and meeting again after moments or a lifetime is certain for those who are friends." ~Richard Bach **_

_**"A beast does not know that he is a beast, and the nearer a man gets to being a beast, the less he knows it." ~George MacDonald **_

**Harry Potter: age 5  
Wellington, New Zealand, The World  
1985**

Rain fell heavily from the sky, the dark menacing clouds letting loose the torrents that they had been holding back for so long. The stars and the moon were completely hidden by the opaque sky and the only light that filled the shadowy night came from the old streetlamps. Still, people wandered the streets, some by choice and some by the simple fact of having nowhere else to go. Sirius and Harry were two of those people.

"Paddy," Harry began in a half-way resigned voice, "do I have to? Why can't I just stay with you?" Sirius sighed and shook his head ruefully, sending crystal like droplets of water soaring from his shaggy hair and onto a disgruntled Harry.

"Pup, we've discussed this a million times! We've been on the streets here for eight weeks now! If either of us gets any skinnier than we are now, we'll end up being invisible from sideways on!" Harry snickered softly at the mental image, and Sirius felt that his job was becoming a little easier. "Moony really needs some help, but there's not a chance that you're walking into a pack of werewolves! Plus, since there's no chance in hell that I'm leaving you on the streets alone, this is our only option."

Harry sighed, and Sirius' heart broke a little more. They both looked mournfully up at the sign swaying and creaking in the wind and could just make out the words.

**Orphelinat**

**Whare pani**

**Orphanage**

Sirius pulled Harry against his own soaked body in a last, quick hug. "I know, Pup," he murmured, "it's hard for me, too." He felt Harry's small arms tighten around him as if they would never let go. They stood there in the rain, the man and the boy, simply holding each other. Eventually though Sirius pulled away, knowing that it was for the best.

"Go on then, I'll see you in month or two," he said roughly, trying to conceal how much sadness he was really feeling. Harry nodded reluctantly and broke away from the embrace as well. He hoisted a small bag over his shoulder before he held his head up high and marched confidently towards the ominous and dark building where he would be staying. Sirius watched as he approached the door, but turned and strode away before Harry knocked. Heading in two different directions for a while, Harry to the orphanage and Sirius to a werewolf den, neither of them said goodbye.

_Two months later…_

Sirius stepped out from the shadows, blinking as he let his eyes grow accustomed to the bright light of the day. Glancing around, he quickly spotted Remus who, feeling a pair of eyes focused on him, raised his head to meet his friend's gaze. Sirius started towards him, nodding at the men and women the he passed.

With Voldemort gone, many of the werewolves had been at loss for what to do with their lives. Many of them had not willingly fallen under Fenrir Greyback's command and when Remus showed them a way out, offering his help, dozens had agreed. With Sirius' help, they had managed to build what resembled a small, native village in the middle of the woods, a sanctuary for those who needed it.

As his friend neared, Remus could tell by the look on his face what was going on.

"Thanks for all that you have done, and tell Harry that I'll visit soon." Sirius froze, but then gave a sheepish smile.

"That obvious?" He inquired ruefully, shaking his head at his predictability. Remus laughed.

"You've been pacing around and doing your jobs at lightning speed for the past week or so; I knew that you would be leaving soon to pick Harry up. Now get going!" Sirius gave Moony a quick, manly, one-armed hug before he expertly transformed into Padfoot and ran off in search of his Godson.

Sirius looked around, amazed at how much the sun could change the way a city looked. The City wasn't a barren, dark place filled with pain and suffering… instead, it was simply a city, filled with the good and bad of the world. And yet Sirius looked up at the building in front of him; it hadn't changed out bit. It remained eerily quiet for an orphanage, all the windows were firmly shut and there were no signs of any children anywhere.

Slightly worried and fighting down the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, the man started towards the door, his head cocked slightly as he attempted to use his animagus senses in his human form. Instantly, his hearing, seeing and smelling became enhanced, but while he could sense children, none were in sight. Giving into his concern, Sirius reached the door slightly out of breath from his quick running and didn't waste a moment to knock on the door. He waited a few seconds before he heard a noise that comforted him: the quiet pitter patter of a young child running down stairs. Smiling in his relief, Sirius looked down as the door opened and froze.

It had been a child indeed who opened the door, but it was the eyes of an adult far beyond his years who looked right back at him. The little Asian girl in the doorway stared at him fearfully with glassy eyes and a large bruise on her face. Sirius' relief fled his mind, setting it once again into fear. He reached down to tilt the girl's head so to see her bruise better, but the moment he lifted the hand, the little girl flinched away, squeezing her eyes shut in terror.

Sirius reeled back in horror. The girl had moved to her right, turning her face so that the man could clearly see that the bruise on her face was shaped as a perfect handprint. Calming his panicking mind, Sirius swallowed heavily and knelt down beside the trembling girl.

"Hello," he said in a quiet voice reserved for frightened young ones, "that's a nasty bruise you have. Does it hurt a lot?" The child looked up at him, still shaking slightly from fear. Sirius gave her a small smile, hoping to comfort her. "I'm not going to hurt you, little one." She didn't look completely convinced, though she visibly let her shoulders relax.

"I'm looking for a little boy who is here," Sirius continued in the same tone of voice, "who's a little taller than you are, with messy black hair and bright green eyes… do you know him?" For a moment she didn't move, causing Sirius' breath to halt for a moment in panic before he forced himself to remain comforting and kind before he frightened her again. Then, her head moved slowly up and down.

Elated, Sirius had to fight to keep calm. "That's wonderful! Could you bring him to me? I'm a family member." Once more, the girl nodded before she turned around and disappeared entirely from his sight. He took the liberty of giving the house a once over, disgusted at what he found. Everything was completely neat, no dust upon the tables, the windows still exuded the strong smell of glass cleaners and nowhere at all could he see children or toys. Then, he heard a faint thud behind him and footsteps in quick succession. He whirled around just in time to see a small figure barrel into him and envelop him in a hug. There would never be a time when Sirius did not recognize the look or the feel of his godson.

Sirius fell to his knees, firmly holding Harry to him, but then held him back to get a good look at his face and his happy smile faded in a flash. Harry was just as thin as he had been when they had parted, his bottom lips had been split in two places as well a large bruise forming stealthily on his right cheekbone. Practically shaking in rage, Sirius made to stand up but froze when he sighted something else. With shaking hands he reached out towards Harry's neck, but as the girl before him had, Harry flinched away. Sirius stilled completely and almost stopped breathing. Harry quickly realized his mistake and, knowing his godfather would never harm him, murmured a quiet, "sorry." His heart breaking, Sirius' hands continued their path to Harry's throat and pulled his shirt collar away to reveal to hand-shaped bruises on either side of his neck.

To Sirius, the whole world went on pause; nothing moved, and nothing made a sound. All that he was aware of was his own thoughts flying through his mind.

_ Someone has hit Harry. Someone has scared Harry. Someone has tried to strangle Harry. _It went over and over in his head, filling him with a rage and disgust that he had not felt since James and Lily had been murdered. He hadn't been able to do anything for them, but he could do something for Harry now. He rose to his feet, an icy expression covering his face; a cold fury that had Harry stepping back in momentary fear, but the animagus didn't notice. Suddenly, a new voice filled the air.

"What the hell is going on here? I told you all to shut up! You'll be sorry!" A man stumbled down the stairs, his fists flying wildly around, searching for a victim. Harry began to tremble, fear spreading through him from his fingertips to his ears and right down to his toes. Sirius finally became aware of his surroundings, and the moment he saw his godson's reaction, he knew that _this_ was the man who had hurt him.

He stepped forward, his expression one of ice. The man in front of him didn't seem to notice, his bloodshot eyes seeking out his prey. Finally though, his glassy eyes fell on Sirius, and even in his drunken state, he knew that he should be scared. Harry stared up at the man who had raised him with both awe and terror, never having seen such a look on his godfather's face in his life. Slowly, Sirius took a step towards the man, and then another until he was practically nose to nose with him. Then, he opened his mouth.

"Who. Are. You." He forced out past gritted teeth, angry at the fact that he had to speak to this scum. The man cowered for a moment, before puffing out his chest and attempting to be brave.

"I am Andrew Smith," he slurred, trying hard to sound intimidating, "and I own this place. Now you the hell are you?" Sirius' eyes flashed the moment that his suspicions were confirmed. Knowing that he had the right man, his hands came up in clenched fists and tugged at the man's collar. Andrew Smith yelped as he was thrown forcefully against a wall, and his hands clambered to his throat where they found another pair of hands. Andrew stared up into the stormy eyes of a furious Sirius, and knew that he had made a mistake.

"I am the guardian of a boy here," Sirius hissed menacingly, "and I'm not happy with how you treated Harry!" Andrew's eyes darted behind Sirius, catching a glance of Harry's scared face. The man scoffed.

"Who, that little bastard? He's nothing but a son of a―" He never got the chance to finish. Sirius growled and his fist came up and violently connected with Andrew's nose, successfully breaking it. The wounded man slumped against the wall. Releasing him completely and preparing to administer more pain, Sirius pulled his arm back.

"Paddy?" The animagus froze, and turned around to see Harry staring at him, his big eyes opened wide and innocent. "Paddy," the little boy continued, "let's go. Please take me home." Heart breaking, Sirius let go of his rage and turned his back on the man. A crowd of children had gathered behind him, some of them staring at him with awe and happiness in their eyes and others with dread that they might be next; Sirius was alarmed to see that Harry was part of the latter, though he seemed to shake himself out of it.

The animagus stared at them, not willing to leave them in an abusive household. He approached them calmly and slowly, quickly making his decision. He held out his hand to Harry who, giving a small smile, firmly grasped it in his own.

"I was really scared." The confession was so quiet that Sirius barely heard it, but it was enough. He squeezed Harry's small hand gently.

"So was I," he assured, "but I will never let anything like this happen to you ever again. You know that, right?" And Harry's smile widened, because he did know that. He and Sirius were together again…nothing could ever go wrong.

That same day, later on in the evening, police officers arrested a man confusedly wandering the street with a sign on his back that clearly read:

_**I am a drunk and I run an orphanage. I have been abusing the children there both  
physically and emotionally for 15 years. I belong in prison.  
Please arrest me and force me to bear the consequences.  
Signed, Andrew Smith**_

They went to the orphanage to find the children, and found them all calmly sitting in the living room with their belongings (very few) packed neatly and talking to child service officials. Only one was missing, but the moment that the officers asked about him, the children simply smiled.

* * *

_**"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still" ~ Lao Tzu**_

_**"As soon as there is life, there is danger" ~Ralph Waldo Emerson**_

**Harry Potter: age 6  
Renton, United States of America, The World  
1986**

Any visitors to 158th Court South-East Renton would believe that the neighbourhood was crawling with giggling, adorable young children and rowdy, fun-loving young men. As it was, the neighbourhood wasn't. So the visitors would curiously ask the people what was creating the ruckus, and those people really wouldn't have much to say. The neighbours were all used to the laughter and sound of things breaking that sometimes filled the air. Most were often very bothered by it, though two weren't, but then they were the ones who caused it.

Sirius Black ducked, narrowly missing a red beam of light that zoomed and instead hit the lamp behind him.

"Not quite, Harry. You've got to say 'Expelliarmus', not 'Expellyermus'. And next time, don't point it at me! But otherwise, great job! Wand movement was perfect!" Sirius coached encouragingly, trying to decide for the umpteenth time if it was wise to let six year old Harry use his wand. Harry nodded, trying to get over the feeling of wrongness that seeped from his godfather's wand, and tried the spell again.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled for what seemed to him the millionth time that night, but it paid off. A small flash and the short, wooden pole held by an upside down mop went flying to the other side of the room and the mop skidded back a few feet before falling to the ground.

"Hah-ha! Look at you, doing real magic at your age!" Sirius crowed, proud that Harry could do a second year spell before he even hit the double digits. "We can stop now, if you want." Harry lowered his wand arm, letting out a relieved sigh as he did.

"When can I have my own wand, Paddy? This one makes me feel all funny." Sirius simply smiled knowingly at him and gave him the same answer that he always did.

"When you're old enough. What do you say to a walk in the woods before bed, eh Pup? Tire you out for a good night's sleep?" Eyes lighting up at the prospect of the woods behind the house, Harry ran off to find his shoes. The moment that he was out of the room, Sirius' expression changed. It darkened, becoming worried. He glanced down at his watch and cursed at the late time.

"Where are you, Moony?" he murmured, before Harry rushed back into his view, all set to go. Sirius instantly developed a grin on his face that was only semi-fake. "Come on, Pup! Let's go get tired and covered in mud!"

_Half an hour later…_

Sirius smiled softly to himself, looking down at the nearly-asleep Harry. The boy was dead on his feet, but he determinedly marched onwards, like he did in any situation. No matter what, he always kept going even though all he wanted to do was stop. For all the years that they had travelled, starved, fought, Harry had learned at least one thing: survival.

"Paddy?" Harry questioned, stopping quite suddenly and refusing to move, "There are people at our house." Instantly, Sirius was alert, gazing into the distance worriedly and drawing his wand at the same time.

"Merlin, you've got good eyes!" Harry grinned triumphantly before his face turned serious again. Quickly thinking, Sirius knew that Harry needed to leave, but also that Remus could arrive at the house any minute… maybe was already there… with the aurors. There wasn't any time for complex strategies or plans. He herded Harry to a patch of bushes at the edge of the forehead and motioned for the boy to crouch down. As soon as Harry did, Sirius stood up.

"Stay here." he ordered in a firm voice and ran off to the house. Harry huffed in frustration, having no patience to simply sit around and wait while his godfather was in danger. The once-sleepy boy was very much awake and the wheels and gears of his mind were whirling as fast as lightning. Suddenly, they all came to a halt as he made his decision. Having had no intention of staying put in the first place, Harry felt no qualms for, not for the first time, ignoring his godfather. He set off at a quick pace, following the footprints that Sirius had made minutes before him, heading towards the house.

Sirius jumped to the left as a curse was sent directly to his head but flew by the constantly-moving man harmlessly. Without missing a beat in the deadly dance, he dropped to the ground and rolled in the opposite direction, effectively confusing his opponents. Once out of range of their hexes and spells, Sirius lifted himself from the ground a little and peered through the smoke that filled the house that had been his home. As far as he could tell, Lupin wasn't nearby; a fact that made him both happy and scared. Moony wasn't there to be hurt or killed, which made the possibility that he could be hurt or killed more and more likely. He thanked Merlin though that Harry was safe.

A creak to his right alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone. Quickly, Sirius sent two spells towards the noise and a groan and a thump followed in their wake. Sirius stood to see an Auror he didn't recognize sprawled unconscious on the ground with four very conscious Aurors behind him with wands pointed at Sirius. Giving the room a quick once over, the animagus cursed to discover that he was surrounded with no way out. Sirius gave one feeble attempt to apparate away, but the anti-apparation wards held strong. Grinning maliciously, one of the Aurors spoke.

"We finally caught you, Black. You've got nowhere else to run. _Stupefy!"_ His eyes rolling backwards into his head, Sirius fell to the ground. A high pitched shriek was the last thing he heard.

"Paddy!" and then, everything went black.

The Aurors all turned in confusion and surprise to see a young boy in the doorway. His eyes were wide and glassy with forming tears and his lips remained parted as if he was readying himself to scream again. Momentarily too shocked to intervene, they remained motionless as the child ran to the murderer they had just stunned. The little boy fell to his knees beside Black and tears began to fall from his bent head.

Snapped out of his stupor, one Auror cautiously walked towards the odd pair but he hadn't even taken two steps before the boy's head snapped up. Though his cheeks were wet, his face was hard and his eyes positively gleamed with fury.

"You hurt him!" the boy spat out, his voiced filled with hatred. About to inform the boy that he knelt beside a murderer, the poor Auror didn't even open his mouth before the floor beneath his feet began to shake menacingly. A heavy wind picked up inside the house, causing lamps to fall to the ground and break, pictures to come off the wall of shatter into a million pieces. Floorboards and walls creaked dangerously above all the noise with cracks appearing in the ceiling above them. The Aurors all moved about, confused and terrified at the mini-hurricane that enveloped them. They yelled spells that were not identifiable over the noise of the wind and did nothing to help anyways. All through the chaos, the young boy held firm, watching the disaster with seething eyes while nothing seemed to harm him or the man he knelt beside. Dodging falling objects and stumbling across the moving room, the wizarding police made for the door only in time to see large pieces of the ceiling fall in front of it. Screaming and moving out of the way, they did not even have time to think of one spell to remove the offending objects from their path before all of the aurors fell to the floor, unconscious.

Instantly, everything quieted and stilled for a moment before a large thud occurred and the front door flew from its hinges across the room. A lone man entered the house, his frantic eyes taking in the damage: fifteen Aurors and one man down and a single, little boy staring calmly at him. Then, as he watched, the by smiled tiredly at him.

"Hey, Uncle Moony." Then Harry joined his godfather on the ground in a dead faint.

* * *

_**Hey everybody! Wicked, here. Hope you enjoy the official first chapter! :D**_

_**Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling.**_

_**Thanks to my beta, xxTunstall Chickxx, for another great edit! You rock!**_

_**~Sensus Scelestus**_


	3. The Road Goes On

"_Strangers are friends you have yet to meet__"  
~Unknown_

"_Don't pray for lighter burdens, but for stronger backs."  
~Unknown_

**_Harry Potter: Age 9  
Yukon, Canada, The World - 1989_**

* * *

Sirius Black stared out the window into the coming night, watching as the sun disappeared completely over the horizon and the stars began to make themselves known to

the world. The man's arms were crossed tightly across his chest, his fingers drumming impatiently. His eyes were dark, his eyebrows narrowed in suppressed anger. His usual carefree grin was missing from his face, leaving lips that were pursed in a frown. His stance was tense, if someone tried to come up to him they would be thrown back by an invisible, static force field.

Harry stared morosely at his godfather, the man who had raised him; he knew that the animagus was furious. He didn't dare start the conversation, fearing what would be said to him in return, but the agonizing silence was killing him. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in that quiet, childish voice of his, the lisp still slightly marring the sentence. His back to his godson, Sirius barked a dry, humorless laugh.

"I should hope you are," he stated coldly. Harry flinched back from his tone and his words, feeling his shame sink even further into his body. Sirius turned around to face him, and despite his anger, felt sorrow wash over him at the sight of his pup. Harry's head hung low, but the tearful eyes were still visible beneath his shaggy hair. Sirius sighed, all of the anger melting away and leaving weary resignation in its place.

"Come over here, Pup," he ordered quietly. Harry sniffed, still fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall, and shuffled awkwardly over to the man who took care of him. Sirius gave another sigh and knelt down on the ground in front of his godson.

"Harry," he continued in that soft voice, "I'm sorry for upsetting you, but you need to learn that you just cannot go around telling people!" Harry started to protest, but Sirius shushed him and kept going.

"I know that you want friends your own age, and I was happy that you got along with those neighborhood kids, but how on Earth could you tell them about the Magical World?"

"But Paddy! They were saying all these things about their new toys, their big pools, and their big houses, and I kept saying no when they asked me if I had them too! They started looking at me funny, so I couldn't stop myself when I just said that I could do magic. They didn't believe me, so I lifted up a stick. Then they all got scared and ran off." The tears started to fall as he waited for Sirius' reaction.

"I know that they were bragging Harry, and in any other case I would have congratulated you for showing off to those rich pansies, but they're _Muggles!_ If the ministry gets wind of this, they'll be swarming every city in the world looking for you! It was good you told me when you did; that way we managed to leave quickly and quietly."Harry perked up a little, and Sirius gave him a small smile.

"There we go," he encouraged, "there's that smile I love so much. Everything will be alright now, Pup, but you have to promise me that you will never tell a Muggle ever again. Promise?" Harry nodded solemnly.

"Promise."

* * *

**_3 Months Later…_**

Emerald eyes snapped open, the shadowy pupils adjusting to the darkness that enveloped them completely. Sitting up in his bed, nine year old Harry Potter Black looked around confused, wondering why he had felt that it was time to wake up. He crept to the window, having a hunch but hoping with all of his small heart that he was wrong. The moment that his wide eyes cleared the windowsill he ducked right back down, pressing his back tightly against the wall, his breathing quickening. He knew exactly what he would have to do; his godfather had drilled the steps into his memory years before. He fell to his hands and knees and swiftly crawled through the silent house that they had been occupying for nearly three months.

Reaching an open door out of sight of all the windows, the young boy leapt to his feet and ran inside. Taking a deep breath to calm himself so as not to worry the man sleeping on the bed, he gently shook the lumpy form under the covers.

Sirius Black sat up immediately, searching the room in a panic. His frantic eyes landed on his godson and he calmed down.

"Harry, what's—" Harry's hand shot out and covered his godfather's mouth, effectively stopping the words on his lips. He leaned in close to Sirius' ear.

"People with big, long coats are here." Instantly, Sirius' whole demeanor changed. His body became stiff and completely still. For a moment, he and Harry just sat there, every single one of their senses on High Alert. And then, they heard it. A soft beeping sound which slowly became louder, and louder: one of Sirius' spell alerts. As it made its way up to a deafening noise level, Sirius began to move.

Clambering to his feet, he ran around the room, grabbing items and stuffing them into a large duffel bag. Taking Harry's hand, he pulled him through the entire house, doing the same thing in every room. He never took much, just the few essentials that he knew they would need. They sped everywhere like lightning, never coming to a complete halt. Just as they reached the kitchen a deafening bang filled the air, sending the little boy flying into Sirius' arms. The man cursed softly before hoisting the heavily laden bag over his shoulders, then advised in a whisper,

"Cover your ears and close your eyes." Harry obeyed, holding on even tighter to Sirius, both knowing and dreading what was about to happen. With a loud pop, they disappeared.

* * *

Opening his eyes and looking around, all Harry saw was trees. His vision was still fuzzy, a direct result of the side-along apparation. He stumbled out of his godfather's embrace and took a few steps before he turned back around.

Sirius rummaged through the bag, mumbling curses and scolding himself at being caught off his guard. Sighing and running his hand through his hair, a trait that he had learned from James long ago, Sirius turned to look at Harry. The little boy was watching him with those big eyes that never missed the tiniest detail.

"Good job being sneaky and waking me up, Pup. How did you know they were there? Why weren't you asleep?" The seven year old shrugged his shoulders in a fashion that made him seem so much older than he really was.

"I was asleep, but something made me wake up, so I did." He shrugged again, not worried or interested at all in the fact that he could sense danger even when asleep.

"We should find Uncle Moony," Harry said, "he might go back to the house when those people are still there." Sirius stared at the boy for a while until Harry grew uncomfortable with the attention.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are way too smart for your age?" He asked finally, a little embarrassed that a seven year old was telling him something that he should have thought of himself. Harry just giggled.

"You have, all the time!" Sirius chuckled and ruffled his hair, amused at the sight of the little boy tolerating it for a minute and then ducking out of his reach. Drawing his wand, he muttered a quick spell sending his shaggy-dog patronus off into the darkness in search of Remus Lupin. Confident that his friend would get the message and join them soon, Sirius took a minute to look at Harry.

Harry Potter was a scrawny kid. He looked as though he might grow quite tall, but he was as skinny as a stick from the occasional lack of eating that he and his family went through. His dark hair was messy, and the young boy had already fallen into the habit of running his hand through it often. His scar still took up the right upper part of his forehead, though it had faded with time and become nothing but a memory in the back of his mind, albeit one that hurt at times. He was very intelligent for his age; he could keep up with adult conversation because he had never had any other type of conversation, and he could talk with the vocabulary of any grown-up, since his Uncle Moony had taken that very seriously.

His face was slightly gaunt, his cheekbones sticking out a little, with shadows under his eyes from the lack of sleep. His vibrant green eyes didn't miss much and though they seemed worn they shone with happiness. Every time Sirius saw them, he felt a million times better for the decision that he and Remus had made years ago.

Suddenly, a bright light hurtled out of the woods around them, in the shining form of a wolf. It slowed as it neared them, until it stood facing them, and a familiar voice echoed around the clearing.

"Keep safe; Canadian Ministry officials are surrounding the house. I'm returning to the Underground, Sirius, on Dumbledore's Request. Keep in touch."

Sirius growled at the thought of Moony in the werewolf underground again, furious with Dumbledore for asking this of him. 'After all he had been through', he thought bitterly, 'that old coot still thinks that he can—'

"Paddy," the quiet voice shook him out of his reverie. He turned to look at his godson. "Did you bring any food?" Sirius froze.

"Um, I think so…Yes, I did, I packed it in the kitchen…before they came in…Umm," he started searching like a mad-man through the bag, throwing things behind him. There was no food. With a sheepish grin, he turned to Harry. "Oops?"

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Oi!" Sirius exclaimed. "It wasn't my fault! We just moved in there a couple of months ago, and the emergency food pack was in the kitchen. The kitchen was exploded! See? Not my fault!"

Harry just looked at him with something akin to amusement and exasperation.

"Okay, okay," he sighed, "Let's just go get some then."

* * *

People in Whitehorse, Canada, were surprised to see a little boy walking the streets on his own. There were no parents in sight and yet the child marched quite confidently around, and anyone could see the reason why. At his feet, a shaggy dog glared menacingly at everyone who looked too long at the boy. His tongue lolled out of his mouth easily as he panted in his effort to keep up with his master. Both boy and dog seemed a little worse for wear; they looked under-nourished and as if they had just walked out of a fire.

Clara Danes watched the odd pair closely, wondering why she got the feeling that they needed help. Steeling her nerves, the aging lady walked over to them. The dog jumped around to face her, hackles raised, but a gentle pat from his owner stopped him. Clara looked in surprise at the boy, who looked back at her with a small, shy smile.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he started in an adorable child's voice, "but do you know where the nearest grocery store is? My dog and I are hungry, but we don't know our way around." Clara was instantly entranced by the young boy who spoke so well and with such manners. Smiling down at him with her crinkled eyes, she replied,

"Of course, there is a convenience store only a block away from here. I was on my way there myself, maybe we could go together!" She had not been on her way there, but she felt the urge to help them more than she just had. With another shy smile, Clara Danes, Harry Potter, and Sirius Black started down the street.

"My name's Harry," the boy said suddenly, causing Clara to look at him and smile, encouraging him to continue, "And this is Padfoot," the dog barked enthusiastically at his name, and the grandmotherly woman laughed.

"Hello Harry and Padfoot," she chuckled, holding out her hand to the serious-looking child, "my name is Clara." Harry nodded shyly and took her hand, shaking it slightly before quickly letting it go. The trio continued on in silence until shouts reached their ears. Harry stiffened, and Padfoot's hackles rose again as he started growling. Looking in the direction that they had both turned to, Clara saw five teenagers circled around a younger, smaller boy, tormenting him mercilessly. Anger filled Clara, but she knew there was nothing she could do to help this one. The boy and the dog seemed to think otherwise. They changed their direction, heading towards the bullies instead, just as one of them reached out and shoved his prey to the ground. A cry of pain erupted from the poor boy's mouth.

Six windows shattered, and everyone screamed out in surprise. The windows were smoking slightly, and there was no shard of glass bigger that a finger nail; they had been completely blasted. Clara had covered her head, but as she looked up she noticed Harry and Padfoot were not in the same positions that they had been in a moment. They still stood unprotected, but now the dog was rubbing his head against the boy, as if trying to calm him down. The boy in question looked absolutely lethal. His eyes had turned a darker shade of green, and his hands were clenched at his sides. There was no doubt in Clara's mind that he was the cause of the mayhem.

The bullies fled, as did the poor boy they had been tormenting, leaving the trio alone. Staring hard at Harry, Clara was in deep thought. Harry took several deep breaths and closed his eyes, trying to calm and control the magic that had briefly taken control. When he opened them again, Clara came to a decision.

"Well," she huffed, "we can't have this mess simply lying around, can we?" Out of her jacket she drew a long, skinny piece of polished wood. Looking at the mess, she waved it slightly and muttered under her breath, "_Reparo"._ Harry and Padfoot watched in amazement as the broken glass repaired itself and flew back into panes, so that to anyone who passed it would look as if nothing had happened.

Clara turned around to face Harry's gaping face and smiled slightly. She had decided that he must be a wizard, and there was a very big chance that he did not know. She knelt so that she was about the same height as the boy who stared wide-eyed at her.

"Harry, do you do things like this often? There is a reason for it, and if you listen closely I will explain everything to you." Her words seemed to wake the boy out of his thoughts. Smiling encouragingly, Clara opened her mouth to start telling him what he was, but was cut off.

"It doesn't happen a lot…usually I have really good control over my magic, but sometimes I get angry and it kinda comes out. Sorry if I worried you." Clara stared at him.

"You know what you are?" she sputtered incredulously, sure that he was simply an orphan who knew nothing of his heritage and of what he was capable of doing. Harry nodded slowly.

"I'm a wizard, and you're a witch," he said clearly, going over each word carefully as if talking to a child. Clara tried to calm down, mentally reminding herself that she was the adult and he the child; she was the one in control of the conversation.

"Yes, that is correct; I am a witch. But I'm a little confused, Harry. How you do you know of all this?" She congratulated herself for sounding cool and collected, even as Harry pointed to the shaggy dog at his feet. For a second Clara didn't even notice it, but when she did, she was lost all over again. With no sign of concentration or strain whatsoever and without noise of any kind, the dog had disappeared. In his stead, there stood a man dressed in all dark colours with shoulder length black hair, a gaunt, haggard face and faint wrinkles from years of struggle. Clara stifled a gasp behind the hand that she had brought up to her mouth. The man looked at her, judging her reaction carefully. Then, he nodded his head and held out his hand.

"Hello, Clara," he said in relaxed greeting, "it's nice to meet you. I'm Sirius Black." Clara blinked uncertainly, but reached out and shook his hand anyways.

"Animagus?" she inquired somewhat shakily. At Sirius' nod, she continued in a stronger voice, "registered or illegal?" His silence was all the answer that she needed. Clara closed her eyes and took several deep, calming breaths. Then, to her surprise, she felt a light touch on her right arm. Opening her eyes, she saw that Harry had reached out his own hand to her arm, looking worriedly up at her.

"Are you alright?" the sweet, innocent question went straight to Clara's heart, and she gave a real smile to the boy. Once assured that the nice lady wasn't about to faint or scream, Harry continued.

"Please don't tell anyone about Sirius," he pleaded, "he doesn't hurt anyone. This way, he can go with me anywhere, no matter what! Please," he finished, "I only have him and uncle Moony."

Sirius watched in both amusement and awe as Harry slowly but surely convinced Clara to keep his secret. He knew that whilst Harry had learned to look someone in the eye and lie to them easily, whenever he told the truth sincerity practically radiated off of him. With his big eyes looking up, shining with trust and love, it was impossible to turn him down. With that in mind, the animagus snickered to himself—the poor old woman didn't stand a chance.

Harry told Clara almost everything. From the unfortunate events which killed his parents, (he didn't mention who the evil wizard was), to Sirius' and Moony's decision, to what they had been doing for his whole life, leaving out only the biggest details that would put their lives in jeopardy.

"Harry, what I don't understand is why you're always travelling around. Why didn't the three of you just stay in England?" Harry froze, wondering if Clara could be trusted with the biggest secret of all. Unsure of what to do, he turned to his godfather. Clara saw the look that passed between them and braced herself for more shocking news, and she wasn't disappointed.

"Currently," Sirius began in a crisp tone, "I am the only suspect, and therefore obviously the man who is guilty, for the murder of Harry's parents."

* * *

_2 months later…_

Harry glanced around, his young age clear from the excitement in his expression. Deep in the heart of the northern Canadian forest, no one would have thought to find a training camp, let alone a training camp for military wizards. Surrounded by strangers in a strange place, Harry was comforted by the presence of Sirius beside him, just as Sirius was with Harry's. The two of them kept their guards up, looking around the busy camp with thorough, alert eyes, picking up on every movement. Many of the men and women there kept glancing in their direction, curious about the newcomers, but no one approached them. Then, a thirty-something looking man spotted them and jogged over to join them. Once he reached them, he stopped.

"You Sirius and Harry?" he inquired, almost positive that he was correct. Sirius nodded shortly, feeling somehow familiar with the man before him who smiled and held out his hand.

"The name's Adam," he stated, "Adam Danes. My mother's name is Clara." The response was instantaneous. Sirius and Harry both relaxed and Sirius eagerly shook his hand.

"Clara's told us all about you, Adam, and about this training camp here. She said that it might be good for my godson and I to be here. Was she right?" Adam grinned and nodded.

"Definitely," he enthused before turning serious. He looked around cautiously before moving in closer. "All of the soldiers are expecting you, as well as Commander Brighton, but under the names of Thomas Green and his nephew, Jason, both of whom are very good friends with my family…isn't that right, Tom?" Sirius turned to Harry, who nodded his satisfaction and understanding.

"Of course, Adam…are you insinuating that we don't know you? You and I practically grew up together as brothers! How dare you accuse us of such! I am hurt!" Sirius clutched his heart in mock outrage, while Adam laughed and Harry fought back a grin. As he led the pair into the log cabin in the middle of the camp, Adam couldn't help slapping Sirius heartily on the back.

"I think that you two are going to fit in here just fine. This camp," he said, gesturing to everything around them, "is for people who don't think that the world is a perfect place and that the Ministries of the world will save us all on the off-hand that something does happen. We train in combat, both magical and Muggle, and learn everything that is worth knowing in the world. What's more, we have alarms and informants in every city in the world, so if trouble arises, we get there to help and often clean up the mess before Aurors even know that something's wrong; we are better than them in every way imaginable. But the best part is, as far as the Ministry is concerned, we don't exist." Adam paused for a moment for dramatic effect, and laughed inwardly at the blank looks he received from his new acquaintances.

"No one really knows who we are; just that if something goes wrong, we take care of it. Some people have even started calling us "Assassins", though we do that very rarely. We're made of the smartest, fastest, strongest, and bravest. Meaning, there's only about a hundred of us, even when we're out-numbered, we win. Got it so far?"

Sirius and Harry stared at him, wide-eyed. Adam enjoyed their incredulous expressions and grinned, but became serious when they rounded the corner and a medium-sized wooden cabin came into view. Straightening his back and giving his two new friends a last glance, Adam strode through the doorway and left them to follow warily.

"Sir, these are the people I talked to you about. Thomas and Jason Green, remember?" A middle-aged man looked up from his paperwork at a large, wooden desk, frowning slightly at the intrusion. Upon seeing Adam his face cleared for a moment before darkening again at the sight of young Harry standing beside him.

"Sergeant, are we running a daycare here?" he demanded in an incredulous tone, keeping his cold eyes locked on Harry's.

"No, sir," came the reply, "but—"

"Then why, might I ask, is there a kid here? You didn't inform me of this and if you had, I would have refused. Now send them on their way!"

"Sir, I dutifully informed you that Jason was younger than the rest of us, and you were still willing to meet him." The commander glared back at him.

"So you did, and now I've met him, and I don't want this toddler in my camp. Now get them out of here!" Adam was about to argue further, along with Sirius, but Harry knew that it wouldn't do any good for them to fight on his behalf; appearing weak, frightened, and willing to let his friends do all the work for him would only ruin his chances even further. Instead of hiding behind Sirius' legs, Harry steeled himself, stepped past the two men and into the direct line of sight of the aged Commander.

"Sir," he started in a quiet yet firm voice, "my parents were murdered when I was one." Both Commander Brighton and Adam started in surprise; that was not what they had expected him to say. Harry continued, ignoring their shock at his statement.

"The person who did it is still out there, and wants me dead too. I won't always have people there to protect me so I need to learn how to defend myself as well as to fight back. Adam's said that this is the best wizard-army training in the world, though most of the population doesn't even know it exists. If you turn me away, I'll just go somewhere else, and get training that could be completely wrong and cause me to make mistakes that could create worldwide disasters, but I would do it if I have to."

The moment he finished, Sirius stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder, a prideful grin present on his face. Harry didn't acknowledge it though; he kept his eyes on Brighton, determined to make him see reason. Brighton stared right back, as if trying to see past his skin and see the very essence of his soul. Finally, he leaned forward, placing his fists together in front of him on his desk.

"You been trained at all yet?"

"Some spells and a little bit of Muggle-style fighting, sir." Harry replied, sensing that he had won his battle. Brighton sighed.

"Alright," he grudgingly agreed, "but you won't get cut any slack from the instructors, nor your fellow trainees. You'll have the same busy, hard schedule as everyone else, you got that?" Harry grinned and made a mock salute.

"Sir yes sir!" Brighton gave him a look.

"Be off with ye! You'll need your strength for tomorrow." Harry gave one last nod before he turned around and made for the exit, a stunned Adam and a proud Sirius following in his wake. The moment they were out of the cabin, Sirius burst into laughter and had to lean against Adam for support.

"Way to go, Pup!" he whooped in delight, "You showed him! That poor man didn't stand a chance!" Adam glanced at him in surprise.

"He's done that before?" Sirius gave him a grin, grabbing a protesting Harry in a huge hug.

"Harry is an excellent convincer. I don't know how he does it, but once he gets going, he can practically get anyone to do what he wants…I think it's something to do with how he looks at them, but when it comes to strangers, he almost always gets his way." Harry shrugged ruefully.

"It doesn't work on you or Moony, though." Sirius ruffled his hair, but Adam just shook his head slowly.

"Commander Brighton is really tough; he never lets anyone get away with anything. If he likes you well enough, you're lucky and he won't kick you out when you forget to do something. If he doesn't, you might as well pack your bags the moment you get them unpacked here. It's unheard of for someone to talk him into something."

The three of them looked at each other for a moment before Sirius chuckled slightly.

"What can I say," he shrugged his broad shoulders, "it's a gift."

* * *

"Alright Ha—Jason," Adam corrected himself, "here's the schedule for you and your uncle. You guys start tomorrow and it's always a busy day, especially if you're not used to it, so I suggest that you guys hit the sack early tonight."

"Will do, thanks," Harry responded, accepting that sheet of paper that Adam held out to him. He walked over to the bunk-bed that he and Sirius would be sharing, all the while reading the paper. It was only seconds before he yelped. Sirius raised his eyebrow, and Harry silently handed the paper to him. Sirius read it thoroughly, his eyes wide, and then went back and read it again. He cursed.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

**_Schedule for Thomas and Jason Green: Weekdays and Saturday_**

**_0445 – 0530 hours: Wake up, freshen up, and breakfast  
0530 – 0630 hours: Run around the perimeter of the training area  
0630 – 0930 hours: Muggle-style self defense  
0930 – 1230 hours: Muggle-style offence  
1230 – 1330 hours: Lunch and energy-replenishing break  
1330 – 1630 hours: Wand self-defense and offense  
1630 – 1930 hours: Useful knowledge lesson  
(necessary potions i.e. healing potions, counter-poison potions; history of dark wizards; dark spells and their counters etc.)  
1930 – 2100 hours: Physical exercise  
2100 – 2200 hours: Dinner and energy-replenishing break  
2200 – 2330 hours: Mental exercise (Occlumency)  
2330 – 0445 hours: Sleep_**

**_Schedule for Sunday_**

**_0630 – 0715 hours: Wake up, freshen up, and breakfast  
0715 – 0815 hours: Run around the perimeter of the training area  
0815 – 1215 hours: Meditating to find inner-animagus  
1215 – 1330 hours: Lunch and energy-replenishing break  
1330 – 1500 hours: World Happenings (past, present, and future)  
1500 – 1700 hours: Wand self-defense and offense  
1700 - 1800 hours: Physical exercise  
1800 – 1900 hours: Mental Exercise  
1900 – 2000 hours: Dinner and energy-replenishing break  
2000 – 2200 hours: Yours to do as you wish (nothing illegal, or life-threatening to you or others)  
2200 – 0445 hours: Sleep_**

Adam leaned over and took a look at their schedule and whistled, impressed.

"Not everyone has the same schedule," he explained, "some have it easier than you do…a lot easier, but the harder the schedule is the more Commander Brighton thinks of you. I'd say that you two are pretty high up there on his honour's list!" Harry and Sirius were not comforted in the least, so Adam continued. "Either that or he wants you to quit."

"Goodbye, wonderful feeling of complete restfulness," Sirius proclaimed mournfully. Adam laughed.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You've got a few classes with me, and we all have breakfast, lunch and dinner together. I'll watch out for you two." Sirius looked at him, and then continued.

"Goodbye, couch potatoe-ness; you were a great friend during the long years! Goodbye, laziness; I shall miss you terribly!"

"Goodbye Voldemort," Harry said quietly so that only Sirius could hear him and his godfather stared at him in surprise, "you won't know what's hit you in a couple of years." Having only heard the last part, Adam was confused, but he clearly saw the look that passed between man and boy. It was a look filled with anger, determination and satisfaction. Seeing it made him unintentionally shiver.

'_Yes," _ Adam thought, '_they will do well here.'_

* * *

_**Hey guys!**_

_**I know, I know, it took me forever to finally get this one posted, and I apologize. Hopefully the**_

**_next one isn't going to take that long...fingers crossed!_**

**_Any suggestions or comments, review!_**

**_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling._**

**_Thanks to my wonderful Beta, xxTunstall Chickxx for another great edit._**

**_~Wicked_**


	4. Make A Man Out Of You

"_**You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction."**__**  
**__**~ George Lorimer**_

"_**The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."**__**  
**__**~Albert Einstein **_

* * *

_**The Next morning…  
1989**_

An insistent clanging was the noise that rudely awakened Harry from his for once peaceful slumber. However, he was used to being dragged from his warm bed at any hour of the morning or night for emergencies, so he readily sat up, rubbing the reluctant sleep away from his eyes. Beside him, Sirius was doing much the same thing. Both of them gave a small stretch before pulling away their blankets and rising completely off of their mattresses. The clanging continued. Harry glanced around, and was surprised to see that only a few of the other cabin's inhabitants were stirring. Adam blearily looked around, as well as two others who slowly but surely abandoned their cocoon of blankets. The rest of them made no effort to wake up, instead groaning and rolling over and even not doing anything at all. The clanging continued.

Shaking his head to sharpen his still unfocused vision, Adam glanced to his right, expecting to see Sirius and Harry still fast asleep. To his surprise, the two of them were already awake and raring to go; making their beds while quietly murmuring to each other and stealing incredulous looks at their lazy roommates. The clanging continued.

"Geez," he commented, ignoring everyone else's demands of quiet and shushing, "you two are early risers…not to mention evident morning people! Maybe you won't fit in so well here…" He said it in a joking manner, but one of the other men rolled over onto his back so that he could see everything in the small cabin that 6 of them shared.

"There's no question of that," he snapped rudely, "even if they didn't like mornings they wouldn't fit in here. What I want to know is why they won't freakin' leave and go back to their fairy tale lives where they belong. This isn't any place for a baby."

"Knock it off, Cameron!" One of the others reproached, looking at the newcomers with a kind and apologetic smile, "The Commander passed them, didn't he? Now stop being a whining pain and get your butt out of bed!" Cameron huffed angrily but did as his roommate had demanded. The other one rolled his eyes and approached Harry and Sirius.

"Hi," he said, "you guys must be Thomas and Jason; Adam told us that you guys would be coming. I'm Aiden." He held out his hand, which Sirius gratefully shook. By doing so, the ice was broken. The remaining four men whom they did not already know quickly came forward and introduced themselves to the pair. Sirius and Harry shook hands with each of them, tolerating the curious and confused look and responding to them with an even, steady gaze. All of them, even Cameron, could sense their two new roommates' first and most important rule: "Ask no questions, you'll receive no lies."

And still, the clanging continued, before it cut off mid clang, leaving the camp in utter silence. Adam glanced at the old clock in their cabin then stood up and smacked his knees. He put his arms around Sirius and Harry and looked at him with an emotion resembling pity.

"Boys, welcome to your worst nightmare."

* * *

_**Harry Potter: age 9  
1989**_

"Get your move on, junior! You're causing a line up! Go, go, go!" Harry gritted his teeth and kept on running. Some of the men around him offered sympathetic looks, though most simply concentrated on breathing. His lungs were burning, his legs feeling as if they were filled with lead and the only thought running through his head was: '_Don't pass out…don't pass out…don't pass out'. _Sirius ran beside him, uttering a different curse under his breath with every breath that he took, having learned very colourful language around the world.

Adam was also near them, giving words of encouragement as often as he could. It had only been three months since Harry and Sirius had first arrived, and their bodies were still not used to the daily grind that they were forced to endure.

"That's it, junior! Keep that up, now!" Cameron had calmed down a bit over the time, though he still enjoyed torturing Harry whenever he could, especially during the morning run, which he was in charge of, being the best long distance runner in the camp. But Harry took it all quietly, showing maturity beyond his years and simply did as his leader commanded. He sped up, levelling out with Aiden and Josh in front of him.

"Hey, short-stuff!" Josh greeted warmly, while Aiden simply smiled, "are you ready to go kill Cameron with me, yet?" Harry snorted.

"Sorry, can't. Not letting him know that he gets to me." Both men laughed, having had the conversation each and every morning run. All of Harry's roommates still knew him as Jay, Tom's nephew, though none of them actually called either of them by their fake names, other than in serious situations; they always giving them nicknames. The older men had quickly welcomed Tom, and were eager to take young Jay under their wing, showing him the ropes of camp life, and giving helpful tips which made the work much easier. But no matter what they said, nothing could help with the running…or Cameron.

"Come on, junior! You can take potty breaks on your own time! Get running!" Harry simply glared, before he turned to his two companions.

"You know what? Never mind; I'm going to rip him to tiny pieces—then rip his tiny pieces into even tinier pieces—and then eat him for lunch!" Sirius and Adam came up behind him and heard Harry's words and the adults all laughed at the created image in their minds, knowing that Harry didn't actually mean it.

"What are you five doing? Gossiping like old women! Get a move on, before I have to kick your sorry butts!" Their laughs turned into growls, and the group became silent, concentrating once more on evening their heavy breathing and making it alive to the next torture session.

_**5 months later...**_

There was a huge thump as Harry fell onto his back hard, almost creating a dent in the floor and his back, but he seemed not to notice. Instead, he just leapt to his feet again and raised his arms in a defensive position.

"Good, squirt…exactly what you need to do. Now, let's see you do it twice in a row." Harry inwardly groaned, wondering once again why all of his teachers seemed to have their minds bent on singling him out. But he resumed his starting position on his knees with his head down in the middle of the floor, trying to ignore the rest of the class's eyes on him. His eyes fluttered closed, and he relied on his instincts and the barely noticeable movement around him to find the precise moment. Then, there it was. His teacher leapt at him from behind him, and Harry's eyes flashed open. He whirled around in a single jump, landing not on his knees but on his feet, and blocking his attackers before they had even come close to hurting him. He looked for the kick that had sent him sprawling to the ground on the last try, and this time caught it, effectively blocking it and using it to his own advantage, slamming his teacher to the ground, then resuming his defensive position.

The teacher rose from the ground, gazing upon his youngest student with pride while the rest of the class clapped and cheered, especially the few roommates that Harry had in the class with him. They knew how hard Harry found that one drill, and how much he practiced, trying to get it right. Harry lowered his hands, and gave a quick bow to his master.

Sirius watched him with a proud grin, ecstatic that Harry was showing his amazing skills. He looked around the room, marvelling at how fast he and Harry had fit in. Most of the other trainees saw Harry, or Jay, as a nephew, or a younger brother and they all doted on him. Sirius too was very liked, and the pair became well known in the whole camp; everyone knew them, and they were good friends to almost everybody there.

Harry fought back a satisfied grin, instead bowing respectively to his teacher before turning and returning to the group of trainees. They all clapped him on the back, saying things like:

"Way to go, Squirt!"

"Told you that you could do it!"

"High five, little man!"

"Nice going, Kiddo!"

Harry took the comments well, smiling softly and blushing slightly from all of the attention, making those around him laugh. Inwardly, he was absolutely ecstatic that he had gotten the drill. The universe had once again shown him that hours and hours of hard work paid off in the end.

* * *

_**Harry Potter: age 10  
1990**_

Harry concentrated with all of his might, carefully and cautiously finding his way down the narrow tunnel. Walls surrounded him, filled with memories, thoughts and fears. He could Sirius laughing and teaching him all the ways to make Moony mad, and then teaching him how to get forgiven. He could see Moony quietly explaining to him the concepts of Math, doing his best to help Harry understand.

He could see Dark shadowy figures running towards him and his two guardians, while Sirius and Moony were frantically throwing curses behind them and urging Harry to run faster. He could hear Moony nervously telling him what he was, and begging him to understand that he wasn't dangerous and that he would never hurt anyone purposefully, then quieting as little Harry hugged him.

He smelled burning as Sirius almost burned down the kitchen, trying to make Harry's 6th birthday dinner, and heard Remus roaring with laughter. The burning turned sour, becoming instead the smell of fire engulfing a house and all of the possessions inside.

He felt safe and warm within Sirius' embrace as he hugged him, trying to calm him after another one of his nightmares, whispering soothing words that comforted the two of them. He felt cold and unprotected as he woke up for the first from a night terror and was completely alone; Moony was away and Sirius was fighting Aurors downstairs.

And then, at the end of the constantly changing hallway, he saw a flash of green light and a high pitched scream of his name, before everything around him became black. From the shadows, a shape appeared, four feet pounding the ground as he ran forward, getting closer to Harry with each second. Harry watched, nerves tingling with anticipation and heart pounding with excitement. The figure slid to a halt in front of him, glowing, emerald-green eyes staring back into his own identical ones, and Harry looked upon a raven-black, young animal.

_**~Thisismylittlelinebreakdon'tmindme**_~

Harry gasped, opening his eyes wide falling backwards from his sitting position. Around him, other trainees startled and looked at him in surprise, while the old teacher, Mr. Jameson, at the front of the class looked up from his book and smiled.

"Ahh, young Jason, have you found your form?" Still in shock, Harry could only nod, making the transition from his mind to reality; meditating always made him feel fuzzy afterwards. The teacher clapped his hands.

"Splendid! Well done, Jason." Everyone else joined in the applause, some slightly jealous that Harry had done it before them, but most simply happy for their young friend. "And you are?" Mr Jameson prompted. Harry looked at him, disbelieving that he had actually done it.

"I'm a wolf," he gasped, saying it as if it was a question, not a fact. His teacher smiled, while others resumed their clapping, this time for his impressive form. They all quickly quieted down to listen as Mr. Jameson pulled out an old book and started to read the traits and qualities of a wolf.

"A wolf is a proud creature; it knows it's abilities and weaknesses. A wolf is independent, determined, but often misunderstood. They usually live in small packs and they are extremely close to their family. They can be very social, but are just as happy being on their own. Wolves are loyal, brave, natural leaders, and wise. They know to pick their fights, and to use their wits as much as their fangs and claws in their battles. A wolf is a noble creature, and to be one is an honour. As such, not many Wolf Animagi are known in the world."

He closed the book, letting his final words sound around the small room. Harry was stunned, but tried his best not to let it show. Instead, he calmly nodded, though his friends could see how amazed he was past his mask.

"Well, Jason, doesn't this just prove once again how amazingly unique you are?" Mr. Jameson enquired teasingly. Everyone laughed, and Harry felt at ease amongst his peers again. He gave a mock salute to his teacher, resulting in stronger laughter.

No one noticed the figure in the doorway watching them all silently, his eyebrows up in consideration and his own surprise while the wheels of his brain worked furiously behind contemplating eyes. Without a word, Commander Brighton left the room, filled to the brim with even more questions about his youngest pupil and his past, but more importantly, his future.

_**3 months later...**_

"Is there a reason that we had to come all the way to bloody London for this? We couldn't do this _anywhere_ else, honestly?"

"Lay off, Aiden; we're cold, wet and tired too."

"Another reason that I don't understand why we're here..."

"We were already in the neighbourhood, and I've been promising Harry this for a long time, so man up and deal with it! It's just a bit of rain!"

"More like torrents and torrents of rain...alright, alright! Don't give me that look; we'll go to this magic alley of yours." Sirius was about to deliver another retort, but a new voice interrupted their quiet argument.

"Do I even want to know what you two are whispering about?" Harry asked dryly, staring at his godfather and friend in front of him. Sirius gave Aiden one last quick glare before he turned around to face his young ward.

"Not at all, Pup; we're just discussing the final plans for your surprise. The surprise, in fact, that you are going to receive in a couple of minutes."

"In a pub? Very classy, Padfoot..." Sirius flashed him a quick grin full of mischief as they entered the dark, gloomy pub called, '_The Leaky Cauldren'. _

The trio received a number of curious stares, mostly directed at the dark hoods completely covering their bodies and faces or the obvious difference in age between two of them and the third. But the way they walked oozed confidence and importance, so no one dared question them. Even Tom the Bartender, usually quite frank with his customers, didn't feel the dire need to talk to the strangers in his pub.

Harry glanced inconspicuously around the dark place, his mind buzzing with the question as to why they were heading to the back door instead of stopping for something. His curiosity mounted as they passed through the back and came face to face with a solid, high brick wall. Aiden started to snigger gently.

"Get lost, much?" Sirius didn't even bother answering him. Instead, he drew his wand and tapped certain bricks. Aiden's snorts all but disappeared when the brick wall started rippling and moving, opening more and more until they had made a complete doorway. Harry stared silently into the slightly less busy than usually alley way. His eyes were huge, and even Aiden could see the awe and happiness shining in them.

"Diagon Alley," he whispered, and just the amazement in his voice made Aiden glad that they had gone. Then, Harry suddenly knew why they were there. He whirled around to face Sirius, making his hood almost fall. He stared at his godfather, incredulous hope alive in his young face. Sirius didn't even need to say anything; he grin told the whole story. Harry barely resisted the urge the whoop, settling instead for tackling his guardian and almost knocking him to the ground.

Sirius gave a mighty, exaggerated "_Oof!"_ before he chuckled and began to hug Harry back, but his godson was already off running down the alley in the direction of a small, dark store called, "_Ollivanders"_.

_**~Thisismylittlelinebreakdon'tmindme**_~

A bell tinkled as the old door opened into the deceivingly small shop, shedding rays of lights into the musty air and singling out every speck of dust. Harry listened and watched attentively, unwilling to let any second of this day pass without his knowledge; he'd been waiting for this a long time. Still though, he stayed on guard, as his training demanded. He remained cool and collected, but still his boyish glee could be easily distinguished by those who knew him. Unfortunately for Harry, Sirius and Adam knew him very well.

"Geez, squirt," Adam teased, "could you get any more excited before your world explodes? You'd think you were just handed the best thing in life!" Harry turned his cloak-covered self to face his friend, and replied simply,

"I have been!"

A soft chuckle startled them all into their defensive stances, sharp eyes scanning the room with vigor, searching for the tall shadow emerging from the back of the shop. He stepped into the light and Harry was taken aback by the frail, old face. Lines crisscrossed the cheeks, showing the age and wisdom that he possessed. The thin, chapped lips were stretched up into a small, childish grin that seemed so out of place of someone so old. But his eyes were what caught the trio's attention: a blue so pale, almost white, but with a sense of _knowing_, that reached out and seemed to read your soul. Harry barely suppressed a shiver, but found he could not look away. Sirius was a little more prepared.

"Ollivander," he nodded respectfully. The man looked back at him carefully before mimicking the movement.

"Sirius Black," he responded bluntly. The three stiffened even more, quickly checking all of their notice-me-not charms and the placement of their cloaks, all the while never taking their eyes off the wandmaker. Ollivander clucked his tongue at them in reproach.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Black. I believe I mentioned that when you were here buying your first wand, did I not?"

Sirius shook his head ruefully, finally allowing himself to relax, compelling his companions to do so also.

"You did, sir. At the time, I thought you were joking." Ollivander didn't seem offended in least. Instead, he gave a knowing smile.

"And now?" was all he said, before he turned his attention to the youngest person in the room.

"As for you, my lad, there's a little mystery for me to unravel. Travelling with Sirius Black, aged beyond your years, cloaked and hidden from the world; that can only mean one thing, I'm afraid." Ollivander looked at him hard, leaned down and placed his lips right beside Harry's ear.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter."

* * *

_**Harry Potter: Age 11  
1999**_

"_Expelliarmus!"_

_"Rectumsempra!"_

_"Confringo!"_

_"Duro!"_

_"Everte Statum!"_

_"Flipendo!"_

"Halt! That's enough for now...if we don't stop it now, you guys will probably last for hours." Harry and Adam lowered their wands, their breathing slightly laboured but all in all quite calm for two people who had been duelling for ten minutes. "Good work, though. Jay; nice job with your defense, but I want to see you a bit stronger on the offense. Next Pair!"

The two stepped off of the training grounds, accepting bottles of water and gulping them down before turning their attention to the pair duelling in front of them. Everyone was so concentrated on the fight that it took a few moments for them to become aware of a shape in the sky headed directly to them. It wasn't until a shadows fell over the group that they even thought to look up.

A brown owl with black spots covering its body flew above them, the angle of its wings suggesting that it was attempting to land. Instantly, everybody tensed, perfectly aware that all of the owls that approached the camp immediately headed to the owlery. But the offending magical bird paid no heed to their alarm, simple lowering and lowering until it was right above them, a thick parchment with green ink letter firmly clasped between its sharp talons. The moment that Harry was in its shadow, the letter was released. Then, with a shrill hoot, the owl took off in the opposite direction. Everyone's eyes followed it until it was completely out of sight.

As one, the trainees and the teacher all turned to Harry, who looked at the letter like he was seeing a ghost. Then, without a word, he ran out of the training area, shouting out as loud as he could,

"PADFOOT!"

_**~Thisismylittlelitebreakdon'tmindme~**_

Harry and Sirius sat side by side, gnawing on their lips, wringing their hands and waiting for their Commander's decision. The silence in the cabin was deafening, and Adam fidgeted in the corner, watching his two friends with worry. Eventually, a sigh sounded, and Commander Brighton let go of the letter, allowing it to fall to his desk.

"Well, Jason," he started, "or should I say, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived-Who-Everyone-Thinks-Is-Dead and Sirius Black, The-One-Who-Killed-His-Parents, this is a right mess you have gotten yourselves into." He sighed again and reached his hand up to tiredly rub his eyes. Harry swallowed and kept his eyes down, anxious to hear what his fate was going to be. Sirius shuffled from foot to foot, ready to run if that was what was necessary. Finally, Brighton spoke again.

"You two are lucky that you are two of my best students, or you would be out of here before you could say 'Expelled'. I expect full reports and explanations about your past, why you lied and sincere apologies addressed to me as well as the rest of the camp; they deserve to know. Rest assured that no one will talk of it outside these wards. For punishment of lying to your commanding officer, you will report to me every Sunday afternoon after dinner for 4 months to do extra training."

"Yes sir," Harry and Sirius responded immediately, relieved that their secret was to be kept from the rest of the world. But still, they kept their muscles tense, worried that the storm wasn't over. The Commander noticed, and raised his hand in the sign of 'stop'.

"Yes, I'm angry, but I'll deal with that tomorrow. Right now, we have a decision to make. Ja-Harry, do you want to go to Hogwarts?" Harry closed his eyes, wishing that he didn't have to make the decision, but he knew that he did. He glanced around the room, taking in Adam looking sad, Sirius watching him closely, and the Commander with his emotionless face.

Hogwarts: the place where his parents went, met and fell in love; where the Marauders ruled the school, filling it with laughs and pranks. Hogwarts: the place where Sirius found a haven from his home; where Moony found friends who didn't hate him for something that he had no control of. It was somewhere he could be around people his own age, have a sensible schedule that wasn't made to kill him, and where he could forget about Voldemort for a couple of months.

Harry turned around and strode to the doorway, setting his gaze wild on the camp. He could see groups of trainees laughing and walking to their next lesson while that darn bell kept ringing. He could see his friends, his mentors; people who had been quick to welcome him into their ranks and respect his silence about his past. People who watched and help him train, doing their best to make sure that he got a lesson right; people who had become a sort of distant family to him. The camp that he had learned backwards and forwards, where he could find any certain place blindfolded. There were so many questions that he wondered about: Hogwarts or Camp, School or Training, Kids or Adults, a Distant Place He Had Never Been to or the One Place Where He Had Stayed the Longest. They all turned into the same thing: Hogwarts or Home. There really was only one answer.

He turned around and marched to the Commander.

"Sir, they'll really want me to go there, won't they?" he enquired. At Brighton's nod, he continued. "So it's likely that each September they'll send another letter?" Another nod, and Sirius began to see Harry's plan. "I can't just leave here when my training is still going on, while there's still much that I have to learn. Eventually, I will go, if only to see what they have to offer. But for now, I'm staying here...if that's alright, Sir." The Commander scrutinized him closely, before his mouth lifted at the corners and he gave the first real, albeit small, smile that Harry had ever seen him give.

"That will be just fine, Trainee."

Across the ocean, deep in the wild of Scotland, Albus Dumbledore sat comfortable in his chair behind his desk, his twinkling eyes staring off into space as he thought about the upcoming school year. The house-elves were already engrossed in their planning of the feast, the teachers were adding the finishing touches to their teaching plans, Mr. Filch was grumbling about the cleaning he did, and Hogwarts itself seemed to shiver with anticipation. Everyone and thing had waited for this year ever since the fall of Voldemort: if Dumbledore was right and he had survived, Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts.

The old professor sighed happily, content that he was finally going to meet Harry and teach him; tell him all he needed to know about the world, his parents, and his life. His musings were interrupted by a ward alert going off, and he heard his staircase moving ever so slowly to allow someone access to the Headmaster's office. He prepared himself to call out his customary, 'Enter', but, without so much as a knock, his door swung open to reveal a very frazzled and excited Minerva McGonagall.

"Headmaster!" she gasped. "He was responded! Harry Potter has responded to his letter! You were right! He lives!" Dumbledore rose gracefully but quickly from his chair, hurrying around his desk to reach the Deputy Headmistress.

"And what," Dumbledore questioned, a tender smile on his face, "does Mr. Potter say?" Professor McGonagall handed him a still firmly sealed letter. Without hesitation, Dumbledore opened it and unfolded the letter, eyes quickly reading the writing over. Within a few agonizingly slow minutes, his eyes widened and a tiny gasp escaped his lips. Minerva instantly became worried, and plucked the letter from the Headmaster's frozen hands.

_Professor Dumbledore,_

_Yes, I am alive, and I have received my letter of acceptance and extend my gratitude to you and your staff for allowing me to join the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, though I will most likely eventually join the ranks of the fifth, sixth, or seventh years, for now I must quite politely say:_

_No Thanks._

_Sincerely,  
Harry James Potter_

* * *

**Hey Guys,  
I know that I honestly don't have a good enough excuse for it being "forever" since I've updated...a lot of you have probably already given up on me! I am sooo sorry, though...a lot of stupid "stuff (for lack of a better, more vulgar word)" has come up in my life lately, and I've been pretty busy trying to sort it all out.  
HOWEVER this story is not abandoned.****And without an further ado, here is your next chapter.  
As always, I am not JK Rowling, if I was, I certainly would not be just good friends with Tom, Rubert, Dan and Matt.**

**~Wicked**

**P.S. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors. My beta seems to have disappeared on me, and I have never been very good at catching my own mistakes!**


	5. You're Gonna Go Far, Kid

"_**Anyone can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person at the right time, and for the right purpose and in the right way - that is not within everyone's power and that is not easy."**_

_**~ Aristotle quotes**_

"_**True friendship isn't about being there when it's convenient; it's about being there when it's not.**__**"  
~Anonymous**_

_**Harry Potter: age 12  
1992**_

Havoc reigned. The bright light of spells flying around lit the battlefield, and the silhouettes of wizards fought furiously amongst each other. Harry watched with wide yes from his hiding spot, both angry and relieved because of the orders of his godfather and his commander.

_***Flashback***_

"I didn't want to have to bring you here, Pup, but there was no choice. Just promise me that you'll stay right here in this spot." Harry gaped incredulously at him.

"What?" He exclaimed, "Stay here? Padfoot—"

"No buts," Sirius interrupted, his normal smile absent from his face. Harry narrowed his eyes, preparing his finest arguments, but a large hand landed on his shoulder. His head swivelled up to look at the Commander.

"He's right, Junior. You're a good fighter, but you're still just a kid. Stay where you are right now.

_***End Flashback***  
_

Harry had scowled, though after seeing the horror of battle, he was rather glad that he had not been asked to kill.

Then, as he watched, a passing curse hit Sirius in the back, causing him to cry out and fall to the ground. Harry looked on in horror as one the rogue wizards that had been fighting walked leisurely up to him and grinned down in triumph. He raised his wand to utter a final, deadly spell, and Sirius opened his eyes groggily, unable to change his fate.

Without thinking, Harry leapt from his hiding place and into the midst of the battle. He heard the shouts of some of his comrades, but he didn't pay them any attention; he didn't even pause to draw his wand. Acting on pure instinct with adrenaline humming in his veins, Harry threw himself in front of his fallen godfather. The offending wizard drew back for a moment in surprise, eyes narrowing at the sight of suck a young and weak opponent. But he wanted Sirius Black, and the boy was standing in his way. Bored with his easy task, he opened his mouth to speak a curse, but then froze.

The boy stared at him, bright green eyes visible darkening by shades in his fury. His hands were facing up, and there were practically bright green sparks flicking above his palms. His presence emanated power; the air around him vibrated with it. All of the fighting around them ceased, and every person turned to watch the formidable wizard who was Harry James Potter. No one moved, and no one made a sound; even if they had wanted to, they couldn't. The absolute power choked them into silence. Then, very slowly and deliberately, Harry raised his arms so that the palm of his hand was facing away from him. Without a word, the wizard in front of him was thrown back into the air, landing unconscious thirty feet away. The spell of amazement had been broken, and the all of the rest of the foes attacked. They threw dozens of hexes and spells at Harry, but the moment they got close to him, they faded into nothing. Looking like his profession was fighting and that he'd been doing it his entire life, Harry made each of his enemies fall. Some were unconscious, some were dead, but all were soundly beaten.

The moment that he was victorious, his power receded back inside of him, returning his looks to that of a twelve year old boy. But everyone left standing knew that he was anything but normal. Feeling the exhaustion residing deep in his very core, Harry swayed on the spot. Adam forgot his awe the second he saw his young friend falter, and he ran forward to help. He arrived at Harry's side just in time to catch him as he fell forward in a dead faint.

* * *

Adam sat and worried, his eyes flicking between the prone forms of Sirius and Harry. The two were laid out on hospital beds, the harsh lights making their faces appear even more sickly and pale than they really were. It had been two days since the small battle in the war, and yet neither showed any signs of waking or even of getting better. The Commander stood behind Adam, once again checking on two of his favourite students, worried despite himself.

Suddenly, the door to the infirmary swung open and they both turned around to see a single man. His hair was a little past shoulder-length, un-kept and messy. His clothes were comfortable and sensible, with rips and tears in certain places from long hours of wear. He was quite tall, though his shoulders were slightly hunched, as if he bore the weight of the world upon them. Dark bags stood out under his eyes and a long, angry looking scratch covered his left cheekbone. A light stubble covered his jaw, mostly a light brown but with flecks of grey amongst the rest. But it was his eyes that made the biggest impression; they were old, though the man could only be in his late thirties. And though his face and body spoke of weariness, his eyes told a story of strength.

Commander Brighton looked at him, unfamiliar with the man, and confused as to why he was there. It was Adam who stepped forward, a look of comprehension gracing his worried features.

"Remus Lupin?" he questioned softly and the man gave a quick, distracted nod, barely listening at all. His whole attention was focused on the two unconscious forms.

"What happened?" He demanded quietly, making his way over to the last two family members he really had. Adam hastened to explain as best he could. But when he got to the part about Harry's amazing power and wandless magic, he was shocked to see Remus' expression transform into one of understanding. Brighton noticed, and narrowed his eyes.

"Has this happened before?" he asked gruffly, knowing then that this was the "Moony" that Sirius and Harry had always talked about; the one who had been part of their lives since Harry had been a baby. Remus sighed loudly, running an agitated hand through his hair.

"Yes," he admitted, "this has happened before. The Aurors are determined to arrest Sirius and once, when Harry was 6, they found him. They were about to take him in when Harry intervened. He pretty much did who you just described to me that he did today, and afterwards, he collapsed and was in the same state as he is now. He did wake up, though...after a couple of days.

Adam didn't even try to hide his relief, though he marvelled at the idea that Harry had been so powerful at such a young age. The Commander fingered his beard thoughtfully as he regarded Remus with curious eyes.

"You are implying," he started, "that Harry could be the most powerful wizard in the whole world, and he doesn't even know it?" Remus paused before nodding his head.

"He knows that he is powerful, more so than others his age, but I don't think that it has dawned on him that he is more powerful than most of the witches and wizards he's ever met. And that's just at his age...when he's older, he could tip the balance of either side of the war so that the side he chooses will win." He stopped there, letting the other two men see his meaning.

"You're saying," Adam stated, "that we either have our world's saviour, or our world's destroyer in the bed beside us, unconscious, as we speak?" Remus nodded again, and the trio fell silent, with their thoughts as the only sound. Remus saw his companions becoming shrouded with doubt, and he felt the need to reassure them.

"Whatever side that Harry picks, will be the right one," he divulged, "even if it's the Dark, though I doubt it will be. He is a very smart boy, and he sees both the good and bad in everything. If he says no, it's for a reason. If he says yes, you can only wonder why. But whatever he does, I will stand by him. Any wise man would."

* * *

A faint white mist hung over everything, making the world seem ghostly and unearthly, and Harry became confused. He could see shapes hovering above him, but couldn't for the life of him make out any details. They kept moving, too, making the already faint pictures in front of his eyes become blurry with pastel colours all fading into white.

There was noise as well, though it sounded deep and faraway, as if he was underwater. Reality seemed like a dream, far away in the back of his mind while he floated in between here and there. It was an odd feeling, unattached and uncaring, but as he watched, it change. The shapes became clearer, making images become easier to define. He could make out two figures hanging over his own, actually words made sense...sort of...

"Harry? Harry? Can you hear me?"

Harry blinked once, and found that his vision improved marginally each time he closed his eye for that half a second. He did again, twice more, until he could actually recognize the people above him. Adam was at his bedside, worry lining his young face but relief flooded his eyes at the sight of Harry awake. Harry widened his line of sight until he saw the Commander at the food of his bed, his face the usual, unflappable mask, though he lit it slip for a moment and have Harry a wink. The boy smiled in return, though every muscle in his body screeched in protest. Harry winced for a moment, and a man to his left rushed forward in concern. Harry looked at him for barely a moment before his leaped out of bed and into the strange man's arms with one, single cry of,

"Moony!"

Remus chuckled, happy to be holding the boy he had helped raise in his arms again. For a couple of minutes, the two simply hugged, until Harry suddenly remembered that they weren't the only people in the room. He stiffened in embarrassment and pulled away. Adam had watched the reunion with a smile on his face, and even Brighton looked at bit amused, and even he had to grin at Harry's embarrassment. Harry mock scowled at all of them or a second. But his happy mood shattered the minute he remembered why he was in the medical ward to begin with.

With a start, he jumped up. The three men with him gazed at him with confusion.

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, a fearful expressions invading his youthful face. Remus' shoulders sagged, and he simply nodded his head towards a bed on the other side of the room. Without a moment's hesitation, Harry ran towards it. The three adults watched him carefully, hoping he didn't react violently to his Godfather being hurt as he had last time, but Harry did nothing of the sort. Instead, he gazed down at Sirius' unmoving form with a thoughtful expression on his face. Then, his eyes narrowed in concentration, he put his hands on his godfather's heart, and said in a calm, young voice,

"It's time to wake up now, Padfoot! Get your lazy arse out of bed!" Adam felt his eyes crinkle in amusement and confusion as he watched his friend, but Remus simply smiled; he had seen this before.

Before their eyes, a warm glow surrounded Sirius' bed, only for a moment, before it faded just as quickly as it had come. Everything seemed the same as it had been before the strange light, except that Harry was even paler, and looked as if he would collapse. Then, just as the men rushed forward to help Harry, a groan was heard, and Sirius' eyes slowly opened. That was the only medicine Harry needed; the moment that he saw that his godfathers was awake, he looked completely recovered.

With a cry, Harry launched himself at Sirius, who instinctively opened his arms, though his eyes remained foggy and confused. He hugged his godson with the little strength he had, though over Harry's shoulder, he raised his eyebrow expectantly at Adam and the Commander who were too astonished for words. Remus then stepped into his old friend's line of vision, and Sirius' jaw dropped to the floor.

"Long time no see, Padfoot," Remus beamed, "welcome back to the realm of the living." Sirius closed his mouth slowly, processing what Remus had said. A second later, his mind figured out the puzzle. Eyes widening, he remembered what had happened to land him in the infirmary with his good friends around him. Lifting up a hand that was still clasped around his godson, he pointed a finger at the bundle in his arms. Moony laughed and nodded.

"Yes, Sirius. Once again, Harry saved your life. That's two you owe him now." Sirius' tired face lit up with pride and he lifted his shoulder to see Harry's face, and was unsurprised to see his godson sound asleep.

_**Harry Potter: age 13  
1993  
Egypt**_

"Alright, people. The situation is that one of these Pharaoh wizards was very protective of his gold which by the way, there is a lot of, and had more than usual booby-traps placed around it, many including Dark Magic that they goblins and curse-breakers don't have much experience in, so the goblins called in a favour with us. The plan is to send in layers of teams; one for each section of the tomb... alright?"

Everyone around the Commander nodded their understanding and consent. The Commander spared a quick glance to his left to make sure his youngest student got the gist of the plan. Harry raised his eyebrow at the look, as if offended that Brighton though so little of him. Brighton sighed good-naturally and shrugged his shoulder somewhat apologetically.

"Good," he continued, "some of the curse-breakers will go with to you, so that they might be able to handle it next time. Now, go get prepared; we'll start in about an hour. Junior, Sirius, stay behind. I want a word with you. Dismissed." Everyone snapped to attention and left. Harry and Sirius stepped towards their Commander questioningly.

"Now, I don't think I have to remind you two to stay low?" he inquired somewhat ruefully. Harry and Sirius both gave him looks this time, as if questioning his sanity. Brighton grumbled, "Yes, yes, very well. If the curse-breakers do recognize you, we'll swear them to secrecy. We'll have no problems with the goblins; customer confidentiality and all that, since both the Potters and the Blacks have a vault with Gringotts. Just in case, we'll call you by your animagus names; understood, Padfoot? Erro?"

Harry was staring at the Commander in puzzlement, though no expression graced his face. He could tell that Brighton hadn't just called them over to discuss their identities.

"What else is there that you're not telling us, Commander?" His voice was neutral, but Brighton knew that the kid wanted answers. He sighed.

"Alright; you guys will be doing the last layer, which is probably the most dangerous." Sirius began to protest at the notion of Harry doing something more dangerous than the rest, but Brighton raised a hand to silence him.

"I know, Sirius. But it's for a number of good reasons. Number one, you come from a Dark Family, which means you have a better aptitude for it than the rest. Number two, Harry's moving forward in leaps and bounds. He can do magic that many of his peers can only dream of. Plus, you've seen how he deals with the Dark Arts. We don't know what's in there, and you two are the only ones I know I can trust to deal with it quickly and efficiently. Understood?" On the outside, Harry was calm and blasé about it all, but on the inside, he was jumping up and down, and Sirius knew him well enough to tell. Sirius sighed, reluctantly getting over his protective nature of his charge.

"Alright," he grudgingly replied, "but if he gets a single scratch on him—"

"Sirius…" Harry half-groaned, half-warned. Sirius continued grumbling under his breath, and Harry sighed, knowing how much his godfather wanted to shield and shelter him from the world of dark and dangers. As Sirius continued on complaining, Harry turned to his Commander.

"Sir," he began, "I'm guessing that we get the most experience curse-breaker, then? Who is it?" Brighton looked at him and frowned, trying to remember that small detail.

"One of those English kids, I think…Will Beasley, or something like that."

* * *

Most of the places where William—Bill—Weasley went, people tended to stare at him. He had been Head Boy at Hogwarts, he was the Eldest son of a Pureblood Wizarding family, he was a renowned for his abilities in cure-breaking, and was one of the few humans who were actually on friendly, or close to it, terms with the goblins. People expected him to carry himself proudly with his nose stuck in the air, with his hair sleeked back onto his head and a pair of square glasses covering his eyes. So wherever he went, he received looks of surprise from those who did not know him personally.

His flaming red hair just barely touched his shoulders, looking as if it was purposefully kept untamed just to spite everyone's opinions. The big fang that hung from his lower earlobe always attracted double-takes of attention. His blue eyes sparkled with mischief and his appearance in total could only be described as _cool. _He seemed like the kind of guy who could find the humour in any situation…Except the one that he was currently facing.

"I'm sorry; I think I may have misheard you, again! And if this is a joke, it's certainly not one that I find amusing. How old is one of the people coming into the last layer with me?" Commander Brighton looks at him impassively.

"He is thirteen," he replied curtly for the third time, "and he is more than capable of helping you. His guardian will also be accompanying you." Bill uttered every single curse that he had learned in Egypt, sure that his executives for punishing him for an unknown crime that he had committed.

"Great," he muttered as he walked off," just great." He paused momentarily, quickly turning back around to face Brighton. "If he gets hurt," he warned, "I'm not taking the blame, you are."

Brighton nodded his consent. "But of course," he responded. "You seem rather against this, any particular reason?" Bill scowled at him, but admitted freely,

"I have a thirteen year old brother. I would never, ever let him do something as dangerous as this. Hell, I wouldn't let my seventeen year old brother do this!" Brighton nodded, but he had a small twinkle in his eyes.

"But you see," he commented dryly, "your brothers aren't Erro."

Bill rolled his eyes up to the sky, as if silently asking, _Why me_?

"Erro," he finally said, "how cute. That his real name, or did he just want a cool sounding nickname that makes no sense?"

"Actually, it's Latin for wanderer." Bill whirled around at the sudden, new voice, to face a young boy walking up to him with serious eyes but a smile tugging at his lips.

The boy was slim and lithe, and confident in his movements in a way that most boys his age weren't. He wasn't tall yet, but his long limbs showed that he had the potential to be. Raven black hair hung down to his chin in messy strands, giving a rugged feel to his image. But it was his eyes that stood out the most: a penetrating green, as bright as the killing curse. They jumped out from the young face, seeming older than the rest of him.

Bill stared, not quite believing that this boy could stun him into silence. Struggling to maintain his composure, he cleared his throat.

"Wanderer? Any particular reason for that name?" Erro let go of his control and let the smile take over his features, finally letting himself look as young as he was.

"But of course," he grinned. "Wandering is what I do best."

Bill nodded once before turning to Brighton.

"He'll do."

"Alright," Bill started briskly, moving at a fast pace through the curse-breaker camp, "here's the deal. We need to get you guys in there fast once we know we can break through to the last level. But there are Ministry officials around here, and as far as I know, you guys really don't want the attention. Ergo, we need to get you in there without being seen. Don't suppose you have any fantastic way of managing that?"

Harry just kept his grin and pointed to a large black dog that was leaping their way. Bill looked at it and raised his eyebrow.

"I thought we were meeting your guardian—you don't mean..." The dog looked at the eldest Weasley and winked once before turning to its charge. Bill just shook his head ruefully.

"Right, well that covers him. What about you, Erro?" He turned around to face the boy, but instead found himself looking at a small black wolf with emerald green eyes staring calmly back at him. Bill gaped at him incredulously.

"No way," he gasped. "No freaking way! An animagus? At your age? No bloody way! I still haven't become one!" Harry didn't respond, just continued on staring, a little condescendingly. Bill groaned enviously but let it go.

While Padfoot and Erro trotted ahead of him, they could still hear him muttering to himself.

"Animagus. At 13. Bloody McGonagall didn't do it until her mid thirties! Bloody hell. Animagus!"

They came to a stop about 30 yards from a large pyramid, at a big hole in the ground. A group of wizards and witches stood beside it, gazing down into the earth. Bill quickly joined them.

"How are they doing?" he asked lowly. One of the wizards shook his head.

"It's amazing, Bill," he admitted, "these guys are blowing past these traps like they were easy! A couple of times, they took about 2 hours, but mostly, they've been speeding through under 60 minutes! I've never seen anything like it."

"Some of the booby traps are incredibly dark curses," one of the witches interrupted, "the kind that make you shake all over if you're close to it. Other, though, are powerfully light...either way, these guys destroy them.

"But they're getting harder," another warned, "and they're starting to take longer. We're almost at the last barrier, and I sure hope they have some bloody geniuses ready to work."

Bill gave a humourless laugh, clearly still uncomfortable with his situation.

"Apparently we do," was all he said. Everyone glanced at the two canines sitting calmly at his feet, but wisely chose not to comment.

A shout from below sprung them all into movement. Wand whipped through the air and quick words were mumbled into the winds. Light drifted through the hole, showing dark shapes which were slowly moving up. No words were exchanged until, finally, three figures arrived at the top, gasping for breath and covered in filth. Adam, Josh, and Aiden looked up at the Curse breakers who surrounded them.

"Through!" Adam wheezed. "But I tell you, there were dementors, levitholds, blood sacrifices and inferi...not to mention those enchantments! I dread to think of the next level." Suddenly, he grinned, turning his gaze to the young wolf who had come to sit beside him. Josh chuckled wearily.

"Meh! Erro will have no trouble with it, likely. Ain't that right, squirt?" Erro gave a high pitched yelp, his tongue lolling lazily out of his mouth. Bill rolled his eyes to the heavens, unwilling to believe the power of a 13 year old.

"Yeah, yeah," he pushed through the crowd, "let's get this over with. The goblin's are getting antsy, and we all know how mean they can get."

Bill's eyes were closed when his feet touched the ground, and he left them that way while he became accustomed to the smalls, sounds and feeling around him. The air was musty and stale, smelling like old chalk and mold. There was no ominous drip-drip of water; just a steady woosh of the wind soaring down the tunnel and the calm breathing of the dog and wolf at his feet. Taking a deep breath to ready himself, Bill opened his eyes. Bright green eyes met his, the creature they belonged to giving a low, concerned whine, and Bill had to grin.

"Just a bit of problems with heights. No matter how many times I do it, flying down a deep, dark tunnel, my movements controlled by other, just really doesn't appeal to me. And you can probably turn back now, you know."

He had no more than finished his statement when two human figures stood before him. The wheels in Bill's mind were running at top speed, trying to place the familiar face of the older man. The one called "Padfoot" stared back at him squarely.

"Are we going to stay here all day or what?" Erro's young voice broke into their silent battle of wills. Padfoot barked out a laugh, shaking his head ruefully.

"But of course, Pup! We wouldn't deign to keep you from you adventure, now could we?" Erro flashed him a quick pout before his mischievous grin returned full-force. Padfoot only rolled his eyes, used to the boy's antics. He turned to Bill's amused face.

"We better move before he decided that he should just leave us old guys being." Bill was shocked into a laugh.

"Who are you calling old, grandpa? I'll have you know that I'm in my prime!" Padfoot scoffed dismissively, whole Erro chuckled loudly.

The trio walked along slowly, wands held loosely in their hands and senses on high alert. They felt the ripple of numerous broken enchantments and saw the carcasses of dead ancient beasts. They felt, rather than saw, the magical barrier that kept the dementors at bay. Erro smiled inwardly as he recognized Adam's handiwork.

Then, suddenly, they came to a stop. A soft, red light shone gently in from of them, illuminating the dark walls with a devil's light. Bill gazed upon it with concentration, trying to figure out the counter in his mind, but drawing a blank. He quickly checked his two companions: Padfoot seemed a bit confused, while Erro looked relieved.

"It's just raw magic," he explained, "powerful stuff, but relatively easy to break though." Padfoot nodded his understanding while Bill reached out slowly with his own magic, only to be flung back by an invisible force. He stumbled back, cursing quietly at the power by which he had been denied entrance. He prepared himself to try again when Erro stepped forward. His eyes drifted shut, and Bill saw the red magic react. It jutted forward as if pushing Erro back, only to quickly recoil. That's when Bill felt it: a gentle thrumming filling him up. It was filled with all good feeling, like comfort, happiness, and love, making Bill almost believe that he was back at the Burrow, surrounded my family. It went up from his toes to his ears, gliding lovingly through his veins, as if crooning a lullaby.

And then it was gone.

Bill's body shuddered, and he bit back a protest at the loss. But he could still feel it moving away from him, soaring lazily through the air. Bill glanced dumbly to Padfoot, only to see the man in a similar condition. Only Erro, still with his eyes firmly shut, seemed unaffected. Even the raw magic seemed to grow a weaker shade of red, slowly moving forward again to reach out to that wonderful feeling. Bill watched as if in a daze as the magic was completely enveloped.

Then, without any warning, everything changed.

The lullaby morphed into a nightmare, filled with chilling fear, cruelty and a cold indifference. The red magic stood no chance. In an instant, with a blood-curling scream, it faded into nothing. The terrible emotions then took form, becoming a bright green mass of smoke filled with rolling shadows and shades. All Bill could do was stand and watch as the victorious magic made the shimmering shape of a wolf, and then bounded into Erro and disappeared.

Instantly, Bill found himself able to breathe normally again, but his body was weak. His knees shook and he quickly found himself falling to the ground. Managing to catch himself with his hands, he sat there gasping for several moments before looking up. Padfoot was leaning against the tunnel wall, unable to move as well, but he was gazing worriedly at the figure in the middle.

Erro swayed slowly on the spot, as if continuously keeping himself from falling. Finally, he regained his balance and opened his eyes. Bill gasped, seeing the Avada-Kedavra eyes that were the exact shade of the smokey mass. Erro turned at the sound, his expression tired but satisfied. The three remained silent for a while longer while they all caught their breath. Padfoot, though, quickly recovered his beloved speech.

"Merlin's pants, Erro! Haven't I told you to give me a little warning before you do that? Seriously! And then whoosh! You just surprise me again and it scares the bleeding crap out of me! Morgana's bloody magic! Whoosh! Seriously!"

Harry grinned.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**


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